THE PROLOGUE FROM OCHRID

MARCH

March 1

1. THE VENERABLE MARTYR EUDOCIA

The venerable martyr Eudocia lived in the Phoenician city of Heliopolis during the reign of
Trajan. Eudocia was a great debaucher at first. After that she was a penitent, ascetic, and
finally a martyr. Through her debauchery she amassed a great fortune. The change in her life
came about inadvertently through God's Providence and a certain elder, the monk Herman.
Coming into the city on assignment, he resided at the home of a Christian whose house was
adjacent to that of Eudocia. In the evening and according to monastic tradition, he began to
recite the Psalter and to read a chapter on the dreadful judgment. Eudocia heard him and
attentively eavesdropped on his words to the end. Fear and terror overcame her, and she
remained awake until dawn. At daybreak, she sent her servant to beseech the monk to come
to her. Herman came and a lengthy conversation took place between them about faith and
salvation in general. As a result of the conversation, Eudocia petitioned the local bishop to
baptize her. Following her baptism, Eudocia bequeathed her entire estate to the Church to be
distributed among the poor. She dismissed her servants and slaves and withdrew to a
convent. Thus, Eudocia resolved to dedicate herself to the monastic life, obedience, patience,
long vigils, prayer and fasting. After thirteen months, Eudocia was elected abbess. Eudocia
lived in the convent for fifty-six years and was found worthy before God. He endowed her with
much grace so that she raised even the dead. When the persecution of Christians began
under Prince Vincent, St. Eudocia was beheaded. Eudocia is a glorious example of how a
vessel of impurity can be purified, sanctified and filled with the Grace of the Holy Spirit, the
precious odor of heaven.

2. THE VENERABLE AGAPIUS

He was a novice under the spiritual direction of a priest in the Vatopedi Monastery on Mt.
Athos. Captured by pirates, Agapius was sold as a slave in Magnesia. After twelve years, he
was miraculously freed through the help of the All-Holy Mother of God and returned to
Vatopedi. He baptized his former master and became his spiritual father. Agapius continued
the remainder of his life in asceticism in Vatopedi and died peacefully in the Lord.

3. THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYR, ANTONINA

Antonina was born in Nicaea. Because of her faith in Christ, she was arrested and brutally
tortured. Finally, she was sewn in a sack and drowned in a lake in the year 302 A.D. God
saved her soul and continuously glorified her among the angels in heaven and among the
faithful on earth.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT EUDOCIA

At one time, a woman filled with sin,

And finally, a meek penitent,

Eudocia prayed to God,

 All the while kneeling, shedding tears.

This enkindled the rage of Satan,

And enraged, to the heavens he cried out:

O Michael, heavenly commander,

Justice you speak, injustice you do to me,

My sheepfold you intend to empty completely,

And from me, to seize the last sheep.

Why do you take this sinful woman?

Her sins are greater than mine!

For some minor disobedience,

To Hades I fell and, into eternal torments.

Her sins are as the stagnant sea

Encompassing everything that comes near her.

Thus, malice spites at good,

To every penitent it bodes evil,

While Michael, the guardian of the penitent,

With angels approach Eudocia

And takes her under his protection,

By his breath, he dispelled the demons.

At that moment from heaven a song echoed:

The mercy of God so willed,

That every penitent be embraced,

That every penitent be forgiven,

Repentance--for all mankind, salvation,

That is both God's mercy and will--

God's will--Satan's evil will.

REFLECTION
Faithfulness and obedience to the will of God is necessary to adorn the life of every Christian.
As is seen in the life of St. Agapius, God glorifies the faithful and the obedient. When he was
a young man, this saint was captured by pirates, was taken to Asia and was sold to a certain
Arab. For twelve years Agapius remained quietly and obediently a slave of this Arab. For
twelve years he prayed to the All-Holy Mother of God to help him gain his freedom from
bondage. One night, the Virgin Mother of God appeared to him and said, "Arise and go
without fear to Mt. Athos to your elder." Agapius arose and came to his elder on Mt. Athos,
the Holy Mountain. When the elder saw Agapius, he was saddened, thinking that Agapius had
fled from his master.He said to him, "My child Agapius, you have deceived your master, but
you can never deceive God. On the day of the dreadful judgment, you will have to render an
answer for that money with which your master purchased you to serve him. Therefore, you
must return and faithfully serve your master." Agapius, faithful and obedient to the will of God,
returned immediately to Asia, reported to his master, and informed him about everything that
had happened. The Arab, learning all of this, was amazed and was overcome with the charity
of Christians. He desired to see Agapius' s elder. The Arab arrived at the Holy Mountain,
accompanied by his two sons. Here, he and his two sons were baptized. All three of them
were tonsured as monks. They remained there until their deaths, practicing the strict life of
asceticism, at first, under the guidance of Agapius' s spiritual father, and afterwards, by
Agapius himself. Thus, the one-time cruel masters became the obedient disciples of their
former slave, faithful to the will of the God of the obedient Agapius.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus at the Mystical Supper:

1. How He washes the feet of His disciples. By this act He especially teaches humility and
love for one another;

2. How Peter, one of the most faithful, was ashamed and refused to allow our Lord to wash
his feet;

3. How Judas, unbeliever and traitor, was unashamed and did not refuse our Lord to wash his
feet;

4. How even today, the faithful receive countless benefits from God with embarrassment and
shame, and the unfaithful also receive the same but without embarrassment and without
shame, and yet with grumbling against God.

HOMILY

About knowing and doing

"If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it" (St. John 13:17).

The most important aspect of this scripture text of our Lord, brethren, is thatthe Lord does not
mitigate knowing, but stresses doing. He does not say to the apostles, "Blessed are you when
you know this." Some pagan teachers who viewed salvation only in terms of knowledge spoke
in this manner. However, our Lord says, "Blessed are you if you do it." The knowledge of
salvation was given to us by the Lord Jesus Himself, and no one is able to attain that
knowledge through his own efforts.

Some of the ancient Greek philosophers said that mankind cannot come to the knowledge of
the truth, nor can be saved, until God Himself comes to earth. Our Lord came among men
and revealed this knowledge to them. Whosoever receives this knowledge also accepts the
obligation to fulfill it. O, how much easier will it be at the judgment for those who never
received this knowledge at all, and consequently, did not fulfill it, than for those who received
this knowledge and neglected to fulfill it.
O, how much easier it will be at the judgment for unlearned pagans than for the learned
Christians.

Our Lord alone showed Himself not only as a Knower, but also as a Doer. His perfect
knowledge complimented His perfect doing. Before the eyes of His disciples, He
personally fulfilled all of His own commandments. He gave them this commandment
and completed this act of humility and love when He washed the feet of His disciples.
He then commanded that they should do this to one another. Our Lord did not dwell
among men to soil men, but to wash them. He never soiled anyone, but cleansed all
who wished to be cleansed. What kind of shame is it for many of us who labor much
to wash ourselves and labor twice as much to soil others? O, my brethren, we muddy
our own blood brothers. Even Christ weeps when He sees how we, with the mud of
slander, soil those whom He has washed with His own blood. O Lord forgive us! We
sin everyday against our own brothers. Make our brothers, O Lord, whom we have
soiled, brighter than we in Your kingdom. You are just and You see all.
 March 2

1. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR THEODOTUS, BISHOP OF KYRENIA ON THE ISLAND OF

CYPRUS

Because of his wisdom and kindness, Theodotus was elected to the episcopacy and
governed the Church of God with love and zeal. When the persecution of Christians began
during the reign of the wicked Emperor Licinius, this godly man was brought to trial and put
through many tortures. When the torturer Sabinus advised him to deny Christ and to bow
down before pagan idols and to worship them, Theodotus replied, "If you knew the goodness
of my God in Whom I hope, that because of these temporary sufferings, will make me worthy
of eternal life, you also would wish to suffer in the same manner as I." The torturers began to
strike his body with nails, and he prayed to God with gratitude. Thinking his end was near,
Theodotus counseled and taught the Christians who were assembled around him. By the
Providence of God, the Emperor Constantine at that time proclaimed freedom to Christians
and ordered that all who were sentenced be released for the sake of Christ. And so, this saint
was freed and returned to his prior position in Kyrenia. Astortured as he was, Theodotus lived
for several more years. After that, he found repose in the Lord, Whom he faithfully served and
for Whom he suffered. In the year 302 A.D. his earthly life ended and was translated to the
mansions of our Lord.

2. THE HOLY MARTYR TROADIUS

As a young man he suffered for Christ. Gregory of Neo-Caesarea saw in a vision how bravely
Troadius withstood his tortures for Christ until the time he was killed. He saw his soul, which
was separated from the body, joyfully hurrying toward heaven. St. Troadius suffered and was
glorified in the third century.

3. THE FOUR-HUNDRED AND FORTY MARTYRS

They were killed by the Lombards in Italy about the year 579 A.D. St. Gregory Dialogues
writes about them. In one place, forty of them were beheaded. At another place, four-hundred
of them were also beheaded, all because they refused to eat of the sacrifices of the idols.
Additionally, these four-hundred refused to dance around the heads of the goats offered to
the demons as a sacrifice by the pagans, as was the custom of the Lombards.

4. THE VENERABLE AGATHON

Agathon was a great Egyptian ascetic who practiced extreme asceticism in the fifth century.
He was a contemporary of St. Macarius and a disciple of St. Lot [Egyptian Ascetic]. He
labored and tried to fulfill all the commandments of our Lord. One of the brethren
complimented him on a small knife with which he used to cut brushwood used for making
baskets. Upon hearing this compliment, the saint joyfully handed over the knife to that brother
as a gift. St. Agathon also said, "It would be very satisfying for me if I could assume unto
myself the body of a leper and give him mine." Is this not perfect love? (*)

(*) In the Greek Synaxarion, he is commemorated on January 8.

5. THE MARTYR EUTHALIA

This holy Euthalia was a virgin from Sicily. She had a mother of the same name and a brother
named Sermilianus. All were unbaptized pagans. Her mother Euthalia suffered from an issue
of blood. The holy martyrs, Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus (May 10), appeared to her in a
dream and told her that she would be healed only if she became baptized in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Euthalia professed her faith in Christ, was baptized, and indeed recovered.
Upon seeing this miracle, evenEuthalia's daughter was baptized. After that, Sermilianus
began to mock and ridicule his mother and sister because of their faith in Christ. He
threatened them. The mother became frightened and fled her home. Then the brother began
to persecute his sister. His sister was not frightened, for Christ was more dear to her than her
brother. She said to Sermilianus, "I am a Christian and I am not afraid of death." The wicked
brother then sent a servant to defile her. When the servant attacked St. Euthalia, he lost his
eyesight. The evil brother saw this miracle but still remained hard of heart. Just as Cain
pursued Abel, Sermilianus pursued his sister, caught her and beheaded her. Thus, the holy
virgin Euthalia was wedded with the wreath of eternal glory. By this example, the words of the
Lord Christ were fulfilled: that He brought a sword among men, which causes variances
between relations in blood, but not between relations in faith. "Do not think that I have come
to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come
to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against
her mother-in-law" (St. Matthew 10:34,35).

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT AGATHON

Untalkative Agathon, for three years studies

With a pebble under his tongue to remain quiet and silent,

That by his tongue, sin, not to serve,

Only to speak words of solace to men

And to glorify God Who created him.

Once, when the saint began to speak

About anger, he said: The one over whom anger takes control

Does not please God, neither now nor never,

We have the power to resurrect the dead,

From the angered one, God does not accept any sacrifices.

And when death hung over Agathon,

The brethren gathered to see him frail,

Prayers he whispered with great fear,

Sigh upon sighs poured from his chest.

The brethren asked him: Are you also afraid,

O, all-good father, when before God you stand?

You were completely good to everyone, to all it is known,

Among the stones of men, you glistened as gold!

Then the elder said with countenance more radiant,

 My children now, before the judgment of God I stand.

The judgment of man is one thing and another is the judgment of God--

And a more powerful sigh seized the elder!

REFLECTION

If someone loses his faith in God, he is recompensed with stupidity. Of all stupidities, it is
difficult to say whether there is a greater one than this: that someone who calls himself a
Christian and then proceeds to gather pathetic proofs for God and eternal life from other
beliefs and philosophies. He who does not find gold among the wealthy; how will he find it
among the poor? The revelation of eternal life, of facts, of proofs, of signs, and of actual
visions of the spiritual world - all of these not only constitute the foundation of the Christian
Faith, but constitute its walls, floors, ornaments, all the furnishings, the roof and the domes of
the majestic building of the Christian Faith. A single ray from the spiritual world glistens
through every word of the Gospels, not to mention the miraculous events, both in Evangelical
and Post-Evangelical times as well as throughout the entire history of the Church for two-
thousand years. Christianity has thrown open wide the gates of that world in so great a
measure, that it should not be necessary to call it a religion, in order not to confuse it with
other faiths and religions. It is a revelation! God's revelation!

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus Christ at the Mystical Supper:

1. How he had told His disciples that one of them would betray Him;

2. How after all that He did for Judas and after the washing of his feet and after indicating that
He knew his betraying intention, Judas remained obstinate in his thoughts of selling his
Teacher and his soul for silver;

3. How our Lord was saddened at the destruction and downfall of Judas as with the
destruction and downfall of His other traitors and traitors of His Church throughout all ages till
the end, all of which He foresaw with His All-Seeing Spirit.

HOMLIY

About the Father and the Son

"And whoever sees me, sees the one who sent me" (St. John 12:45).

He who sees the light also sees the sun beyond it. For could anyone see the sun and
not the light? If the sun did not emit its light, none of us would know about the sun.
All of our knowledge about the sun, we received with the help of the rays of light
which came from the sun. No one has ever seen the sun with the help of some other
light, other than that which comes from the sun itself. So it is with our knowing the
Father with the help of the Son. He who does not know about the Son cannot know
about the Father. He who knows the Son, knows the Father. He who sees the Son,
sees also the Father. God cannot be known without His Light Who came among men.
The Light of the Father is the Son. "I am the Light" (St. John 8:2), said Christ. The
Light shines in the darkness! The physical world would be completely in darkness if it
were not for the light from the sun. The spiritual and moral world and all the life of
mankind would be in darkness if it were not for the Light which is from the Father.
That Light is Christ the Lord. Truly, brethren, there is no true light which illuminates
the Being of God as does the light of Christ the Lord. He who sees Him sees God. He
who does not see Him is in darkness. O Lord, Son of God, always help our souls to
see You, and through You, Your Heavenly Father and the Comforter, the Holy Spirit,
Trinity, one in essence and undivided.
 March 3

1. THE HOLY MARTYRS, EUTROPIUS, CLEONICUS AND BASILLISCUS

They were companions of St. Theodore Tiro. When the righteous Theodore gloriously died,
they remained behind in prison, and for a long time they were not sentenced due to a change
in the emperor's deputy in the city of Amasea. When the new governor arrived, more inhuman
than his predecessor, he ordered that these three be brought before him. All three were
youths. Eutropius and Cleonicus wereblood brothers, and Basilliscus was a kinsman of St.
Theodore. All three were like blood brothers in brotherly love. As such, they said before the
governor, "As the Holy Trinity is undivided, so also are we by our faith undivided and in love
inseparable." In vain was all the flattery on the part of the governor and in vain were his
attempts to bribe Eutropius. First of all, the deputy invited Eutropius to dine with him.
Eutropius refused, quoting from the Psalms, "Happy the man who follows not the counsel of
the wicked" (Psalm 1:1). After that, the deputy offered him a large amount of money, one
hundred-fifty litres of silver, which Eutropius also refused and reminded the governor that
because of silver, Judas lost his soul. After all attempts at interrogation and torture, the first
two were sentenced to be crucified, and Basilliscus was sentenced to be beheaded. And so it
was, two brothers crucified on two crosses for which they gave thanks to Christ that He made
them worthy of the same death by which He Himself died. The third, Basilliscus, was
beheaded. They all entered the Kingdom of Joy where St. Theodore, their commander,
awaited them and who before them was glorified by Christ the Lord and Victor. They suffered
honorably in the year 308 A.D.

2. SAINT PIAMA THE EGYPTIAN

For the sake of Christ, Piama did not wish to marry; she dedicated herself to a life of
asceticism in the home of her mother. She ate very little food, and that, every other day. She
spent most of her time in prayer and contemplation. Piama possessed the "Gift of
Discernment." She died peacefully, wedding her soul to the Lord about the year 377 A.D.

3. THE UNKNOWN MAIDEN

Coming from a wealthy home in Alexandria, she had a good father who suffered much and
came to an evil end, and an evil mother who lived well, died peacefully and was buried with
honors. Perplexed as to whether she should live according to the example of her father or her
mother, this maiden had a vision which revealed to her the conditions of her mother and her
father in the other world. She saw her father in the Kingdom of God and her mother in
darkness and in torment. This vision helped themaiden to decide that she would dedicate her
whole life to God and, like her father, would adhere to the commandments of God, without
considering all the adversities and the misfortunes which she would have to endure. She was
faithful to the will of God to the end and, with the help of God, was made worthy of the
Kingdom of Heaven where she was reunited with her God-loving father.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINTS EUTROPIUS, CLEONICUS AND BASILLISCUS

The mind composed and uplifted to God the Most High,

The heart enflamed with love toward Him,

Does not care about pains nor about the body, worry,

Over such as these, only the Lord rules.

 The mind fixed on Christ, that is most important.

This, during his torments, Saint Eutropius recognized

And Cleonicus his brother and beloved Basilliscus,

All three in the fire as though in the morning dew, were.

A mind fixed on Christ, about tortures does not care,

If pain persists, so also does prayer persist,

About pain, it does not think, but prayer, it weaves;

He who fears God does not fear pain.

Two blood brothers raised on the Cross:

Their bodies convulse, but the spirit does not stir,

Both glorify God Who glorified them;

Such an honorable death, to them, He gave.

The garment of the flesh is rent and removed

And the spirit races toward heaven; the spirit, than the body, is stronger;

Receive O God, they cry out, our spirit in the heights,

To You be enteral glory, O Son of God!

REFLECTION

Humanly speaking, Christ, by His obedience, elevated Himself to primacy in the Church, in
the world and in the history of mankind. No one can be a good leader who has not completed
the school of obedience. Adam forfeited the authority and dominion over the living creatures
and the elements of nature at the very moment when he showed himself disobedient to God.
The Abba Moses said, "Obedience begats obedience; if someone listens to God, God also
listens to him." It is obvious then, that God listens to man more than man listens to God,
especially when one takes into consideration how often and in how many ways man sins daily
against the commandments of God. It is a fact that the Eternal God listens to us, corruptible
as we are, more than we listen to Him. This should fill all of us with shame who still have a
conscience. When St. Eutropius was being tortured, along with his two companions, he
prayed to God, "Come to us in assistance as You came to Your servant Theodore Tiro."
Suddenly, the ground shook and the obedient Lord appeared with His angels along with St.
Theodore. The Lord said to the sufferers, "During the time of your torture, I stood before your
faces and observed your patience. I will write your names in the Book of Life."

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus at the Mystical Supper:

1. How He chose bread and wine, two ordinary elements of nourishment, and through them
instituted His visible and invisible bond with the Church until the end;
2. How the Mystical Supper was preserved until today and how it will be preserved until the
end of time as the Mystery of Communion;

3. How everyday, and almost every hour, somewhere in the world, a priest, consecrates the
bread and wine and receives it as the Body and Blood of Christ. What a wonderful vision that
is! [The Consecration of the bread and wine and receiving it as the Holy Body and Precious
Blood of Christ]

HOMILY

About love for your neighbor

"Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessaryfor your benefit" (Philippians 1:24).

Inflamed with the love of God, the Apostle Paul acknowledged, in his Epistle to the
Philippians, that for him death is a gain because his life is Christ's. Paul's love for Christ
draws him toward death so that he may stand by Christ as soon as possible,and his love for
the faithful again compels him to remain in the flesh. However, there are not two loves which
attract the apostle and pulls him in two directions, but one and the same love which opens
before him two treasures of wealth. One treasure is the blessed world in heaven, and the
other treasure is the souls of the faithful on earth. That heavenly treasure is increased by this
wealth from earth; this treasure overflows into the other. To go to heaven, the apostle is
drawn by love and reward; to remain on earth, he is drawn by love and duty. When mortal
man, my brethren, discovers that it is more important to remain in the flesh out of love for his
brethren, what kind of miracle is it then that the eternal God knew, before the apostle, that it
was more important to be in the flesh for the salvation of mankind than out of the flesh in the
spiritual kingdom? Does not this confession of Paul before the Philippians explain to us with
complete clarity the reasons for the Incarnation of the Son of God? There, in the heavens, is
the true Kingdom of Christ and the true life of Christ without the mingling of sin and death. But
the love of the Son of God toward men deemed it necessary to remain in the flesh on earth
among men. Truly, we need to be thankful to the Apostle Paul that he, in explaining himself to
us, explained the mystery of Christ's coming and His dwelling in the flesh.

O Lord, wonderful are You in Your saints.

 March 4

1. THE VENERABLE GERASIMUS

This remarkable and famous saint first learned about the ascetical lifein the Egyptian Thebaid.
He then went to the Jordan and there founded a community in which there were seventy
monks. This community still exists today. He instituted a special Constitution [Rule] for his
monastery by which the monks spent five days in their cells weaving baskets, reeds and rush
mats. They were never allowed to light a fire in their cells. For five days they ate only a little
dry bread and dates. The monks were required to keep their cells open so that when they
went out, anyone could enter and remove whatever he needed from their cells. On Saturdays
and Sundays they gathered in the monastic church. They had a common meal with a few
vegetables and a little wine to the glory of God. Each monk would then bring in and place
before the feet of the abbot that which he had made during the past five days. Each monk had
only one robe. St. Gerasimus was an example to all. During the Great Lenten Fast he did not
eat anything except what he received in Holy Communion. On one occasion, he saw a lion
roaring from pain because there was a thorn in his paw. Gerasimus drew near to the lion,
crossed himself, and removed the thorn in the animal's paw. The lion became so tame that he
returned with Gerasimus to the monastery and remained there until the elder's death. When
Gerasimus died, the lion succumbed from sorrow for him. Gerasimus attended the Fourth
Ecumenical Council [Chalcedon, 451 A.D.] during the reign of Marcian and Plucheria. Even
though in the beginning, Gerasimus leaned toward the Monophysite heresy of Eutyches and
Dioscorus, he was a great defender and champion of Orthodoxy at the Council. St. Euthymius
dissuaded him from this heresy. Of all of the disciples of Gerasimus, the most famous was St.
Cyriacus the Recluse. St. Gerasimus died in the year 475 A.D., and was translated into the
eternal joy of his Lord.

2. THE HOLY MARTYRS PAUL AND JULIANA

Paul and Juliana were brother and sister from Ptolemais in Phoenicia. They were brutally
tortured for the sake of Christ by the Emperor Aurelius and were finally beheaded. Before
their martyrdom many of their miracles were manifested, and were witnessed by many
pagans. Through these miracles, many of the pagans were converted to the Faith. Several of
these were beheaded and received their wreaths in the year 273 A.D.

3. SAINT JAMES THE FASTER

He lived in the sixth century. He was so perfected in pleasing God that Jamescured the most
gravely ill through his prayers. But the enemy of mankind lured him into great temptations. At
one time, an immoral woman was sent to him by some scoffers. She misrepresented herself
to James, pretending to be crying yet all the while luring him into sin. Seeing that he was
going to yield to sin, James placed his left hand into the fire and held it there for some time
until it was scorched. Seeing this, the woman was filled with fear and terror, repented and
amended her life. On another occasion, James did not flee from his temptation, but rather he
succumbs to a maiden, who was brought as alunatic by her parents to be cured of her
insanity. He, indeed, healed her and after that, sinned with her. Then in order to conceal his
sin he killed her and threw her into a river. As is common, the steps from adultery to murder
are not too distant. James lived for ten years after that as a penitent in an open grave. At
thattime there was a great drought which caused both people and live-stock to suffer. As a
result of his prayers, rain fell; James knew that God had forgiven him. Here is an example,
similar to that of David, of how twisted is the demon of evil; how by God's permission, the
greatest spiritual giants can be overthrown, and through sincere and contrite penance, God,
according to His mercy, forgives even the greatest sins and does not punish those when they
punish themselves.

HYMN OF PRAISE
 SAINT JAMES THE FASTER

Who from the greater height falls, is injured more,

To the heights whoever is lifted, let him cautiously shield himself.

The holy apostle writes: "Whoever thinks that he is standing secure

should take care not to fall," (*) let him fear God.

James the Faster, according to the height of his soul, a giant was he,

But, he, from the heights slipped, and the devil toppled him;

One sin, to the other hastens, adultery rushes to murder,

James the Faster, himself, punishes, and God comforted him.

All virtues, one sin, is able to erode;

One hole in the granary, all the wheat pours out.

A house filled with fragrances, one handful of filth

Empties it of redolence and fills it with stench.

One-hundred victories nor one-hundred celebrations do not help

When in the final battle, the head is lost.

The spiritual life is a struggle against the hordes of the devil,

In this battle, from the beginning the proud are defeated.

Whoever invokes the Name of God with profound humility

That one, in battle, will be protected by God's mercy.

(*) I Corinthians 10:12

REFLECTION

If the philosophies of men were able to satisfy man, why did the philosophers Justin and
Origen become Christians? Why did Basil, Chrysostom and Gregory, who in Athens studying
all the philosophy of the Greeks, receive baptism? And why didBlessed Augustine, who knew
the wisdom of both the Greeks and the Romans, throw away all and seek salvation and
illumination in the Faith of Christ? And St. Clement of Rome, who was very wealthy and very
learned? And St. Catherine, who was from the royal house and knew all the worldly wisdom
of the Egyptians? And the young Crown Prince Joasaph in India, to whom was known all the
Indian philosophies? And many, many more who primarily sought explanations to the puzzles
of the world and illumination for their souls in philosophy and, after that, entered the Church
and worshipped the Lord Christ?

CONTEMPLATION
To contemplate the Mystery of Communion as the presence of our Lord Jesus in the Church
on earth:

1. As the fulfillment of His promise, "And behold, I am with you always until the end of the
age" (St. Matthew 28:20).

2. As His constant support of the faithful, to whom He said, "Without me, you can do nothing"
(St. John 15:5).

HOMILY

About Pilate's wavering

"Consequently, Pilate tried to release Him, then, hehanded Him over to be crucified" St.
John19:12,16).

From where does this contradiction in Pilate stem? From where is this dual will in one and the
same man? While he stood under the radiant face of Christ, Pilatefrom all his heart wanted to
release the Just Man. But, when the darkness of the Jews overcame him, he agreed to the
works of darkness. This is the seed [Jesus Christ], fallen among the thorns. While the face of
Christ shown on the seed, the seed took root, but as soon as the seed was left without this
light, the darkness of the thorns smothered it. When the Lord Jesus authoritatively spoke to
Pilate of the Heavenly Kingdom, saying to him, "You would have no power over Me, if it had
not been given to you from above" (St. John 19:11), Pilate then felt overcome by the fear of
God. But when the masses of the Jews cried out to Pilate, "If you release Him, you are not a
friend of Caesar" (St. John 19:12), then Pilate was overcome with fear from the worldly king.
His fear for the body overcame his fear for his soul, as it happens occasionally, even today.
Pilate was a disciple of worldly wisdom. Worldly wisdom does not offer strength but instills
fear. Worldly wisdom does not sustain the soul but the body. Worldly wisdom does not instill
fear for the soul but fear for the body and all that is physical. Here, in Pilate, we see an
obvious and a pathetic example of what kind of men worldly wisdom produces and educates,
sidestepping God and going against Christ. Pilate's weak character and wavering soul is a
picture, not only of pagans, but also of weak Christians. Certain Christians daily, imperceptibly
and, more often,unconsciously, would for a while like to eliminate Christ from the darkened
and evil instinct of the Jews within themselves. Then, at other times, they would like to
abandon Him to that instinct for crucifixion. This always happens when a Christian
transgresses some of the commandments of Christ for the sake of fulfilling some of his own
physical desires. For a moment, that commandment enlightens the heart of a wavering
Christian and again, for a moment, the physical darkness overcomes him so much that he
completely succumbs to it. O Lord, long-suffering, do not turn away the radiance of Your face
from us even for one twinkling of the eye, so that the darkness does not overcome us.

O Lord help us that we will remain children of the light until the end.
 March 5

1. THE HOLY MARTYR CONON OF ISAURIA

He was brought up in the Faith of Christ and baptized in the name of the All-Holy and Life-
giving Trinity by the Archangel Michael, the Commander of the Angelic Hosts of God. Until his
death, the archangel of God invisibly watched over him. Conon was illumined and empowered
by the Grace of the Holy Spirit so that his heart was not driven by anything worldly but only by
the spiritual and heavenly. When his parents forced him into marriage, the first evening he
took a candle and placed it under a utensil and asked his bride, "Which is better, light or
darkness?" She replied, "Light." He then began to talk to her about the Faith of Christ and the
spiritual life as being far more superior and more appealing than the physical. In this he
succeeded. Afterwards Conon converted his wife and her parents to the Faith of Christ.
Conon and his wife lived as brother and sister. Shortly thereafter, his wife and parents died,
and he withdrew completely from this worldly life and devoted himself completely to prayer,
fasting and pious thoughts. He performed great miracles through which he converted many to
Christianity. Among other examples, Conon compelled evil spirits to serve him. During the
time of a persecution, he was captured, tortured and pierced throughout with knives. The sick
anointed themselves with his blood and they were healed. After that, he lived for two
additional years in his town of Isauria and presented himself before the Lord. This glorious
saint lived and was martyred in the second century.

2. THE HOLY MARTYR CONON THE GARDENER

Conon was born in Nazareth. He was kind and innocent and in all things found favor with
God. During the reign of Decius, Conon was persecuted, suffered and martyred for Christ.
Throughout, he remained strong in the Faith. He sharply rebuked and criticized the pagan
judges because of their stupidity. With nails driven into his feet and tied to the prince's chariot,
this virtuous and innocent saint was dragged until he was completely exhausted and fell. It
was then that he prayed for the last time and gave up his soul to God in the year 251 A.D.

3. VENERABLE HESYCHIUS THE FASTER

Hesychius was born near Brusa in the eighth century. He then retreated to Mount Maion
which had an evil reputation because of demonic apparitions. There, Hesychius built a hut for
himself and a chapel dedicated to the honor of St. Andrew the Apostle. He surrounded it with
a garden which he cultivated in order to live by his own labor. By his prayers he performed
many miracles. Hesychius prophesied that after his death a convent would be built on that
place. A month before, he foresaw the day and hour of his death. At midnight on the foreseen
day, some men saw his hut glowing with an extraordinary light. When they arrived, they found
him dead. Hesychius died peacefully and was received into the kingdom of His Lord in the
year 790 A.D. He was buried in the church of St. Andrew. Later, Theophylactus, the Bishop of
Amasea, translated his body to Amasea.

4. VENERABLE MARK THE ASCETIC

Mark was an ascetic and miracle-worker. In his fortieth year he was tonsured a monk by his
teacher St. John Chrysostom. Mark then spent sixty more years in the wilderness of Nitria in
fasting, prayer and writing many spiritual works concerning the salvation of souls. He knew
the entire Holy Scriptures by heart. He was very merciful and kind. He wept much for the
misfortunes which had befallen all of God's creation. On one occasion, while crying, he
prayed to God for a blind puppy of a hyena and the puppy received its sight. In thanksgiving
the mother of the hyena brought him a sheepskin. The saint forbade the hyena in the future to
kill any more sheep of poor people. He received Communion at the hands of the angels. His
homilies concerning the spiritual law, on repentance, and on sobriety, etc., are ranked among
the first-class literature of the Church. These works were praised by the great Patriarch
Photius himself.
 HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL

The angels, our older and superior brothers are,

The Will of God Most High, their will.

Than light, more bright are they, swifter and brighter,

Of the air on the mountain, lighter and fresher,

In light they are clothed, the light of their Creator,

Tireless laborers of the work of Christ.

For men they are concerned, men, their only concern:

How to God return, the prodigal son,

How, from a strange land, their younger brothers

To return to the joyful courts of the Householder.

Michael, Archistratig, the first among the first,

What Venus is among the stars, he is among the angels;

To every penitent he hurries, to lift him up to God,

No matter how many penitents, he reaches them all.

To serve, serve and serve--for him that is joy,

Even in heaven, service to one's neighbor is paramount.

Service which strengthens life and makes a mother jubilant,

Service which adorns wreaths, unfading,

That service for the angels is joy and celebration

For it is directed to the glory of God and for men, salvation.

REFLECTION

Why do some people, well educated and baptized as Christians, fall away from Christianity
and give themselves over to philosophy and to learned theories,pretending these to be
something more truthful than Christianity? They do so for two principal reasons: either out of a
totally superficial understanding of Christianity or because of sin. A superficial understanding
of Christ rejects Him and flees from Christ as does a criminal from a judge. Superficial and
sinful Christians were as often enraged and infuriated with Christianity as were the pagans.
To the superficial and culpable, it was more comfortable for them to bathe in the shallow
swamp of human thoughts than in the perilous depth of Christ. For those who sincerely follow
Christ, He constantly calls them to a greater and greater depth; as He once said to the
Apostle Peter, "Put out into deep water" (St. Luke 5:4). St. Mark the Ascetic writes that the
law of God is understood in accordance with the fulfillment of the commandments of God:
"Ignorance compels a person to speak in opposition to that which is beneficial and insolence
multiplies vice."

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Mystery of Communion as a Mystery of the Perfection of Love:

1. Because on the part of Christ, it means giving completely of Himself to His faithful;

2. Because of this, Christ is received with faith and trust on the part of the faithful;

3. Because of this, it leads to the joyful, fruitful and saving union of God with man.

HOMILY

About traveling with Christ into the deep

"Put out into deep water" (St. Luke 5:4).

This is how our Lord commanded Peter and the rest of the apostles "after He had finished
speaking" (St. Luke 5:4). This means that He first gave instructions and immediately following
that, He called them to action. This is also important for us. For as soon as we learn
something from the Gospels, we immediately need to go out and implement it. The works of
the disciple are dear to the Lord, not only the disciple. "Put out into deep water." Along the
shore, from the shallow waters, our Lord spoke to the people who were less enlightened in
the mysteries of God's Kingdom. He invited the apostles out into the deep. There is less
danger in the shallow waters, but the catch is also smaller. In the shallow waters there are
snakes, frogs and other lesser repulsive water creatures. That is all the danger. In shallow
waters there are only small fish; that is the entire catch. But in the greater depths, the danger
is also greater. There you have large sea creatures and great storms. That is dangerous. But
there are also much larger and better fish in enormous quantity; that is the catch. O,
enlightened one, come therefore into the deep! "Put out into the deep" mysterious sea of life,
but do not set out without Christ in your boat. By no means. You might spend the entire night
of your life not catching anything, as Peter said, "We have toiled all night and have taken
nothing" (St. Luke 4:5). Not only that, but you could face far worse if Christ is not in your boat.
Perhaps the winds could carry you away and cast you into an abyss. Perhaps the monstrous
and enormous beasts of the sea will consume you. The winds, O enlightened one, those are
your own passions which accompany you unavoidably if you set out into the deep without
Christ. The enormous and monstrous beasts of the sea are demons who, with the blinking of
an eye, can destroy you as with the blinking of an eye "the herd of about two thousand swine
rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned" (St. Mark 5:13).

However, if you are going out with Christ into the deep, do not be afraid of anything; but go
rejoicefully and courageously glued to Christ. You will lay hold of the best catch; and you will
fill both boats with it, the physical and the spiritual. You will snare the best catch, O dedicated
one, and, without any dangers, you will arrive to theshore, to the shore of the Kingdom of
Christ. Nowhere without Christ! Neither in shallow places nor into the deep. In the shallow
places you will become vexed by hunger and by many minor disgusts, but into the deep a
greater evil will befall you.

O, my Almighty Savior, You are our Helmsman, our Defense, our Harbor.
 March 6

1. THE HOLY FORTY-TWO MARTYRS FROM AMMORIA

They were all commanders of the Byzantine Emperor Theophilus. When the Emperor
Theophilus lost the battle against the Saracens at the city of Ammoria, the Saracens captured
the city, enslaved many Christians and among them these commanders. The remaining
Christians were either killed or sold into slavery. The commanders were thrown into prison
where they remained for seven years. Many times the Muslim leaders came to them. They
counseled and advised the commanders to embrace the Islamic Faith, but the commanders
did not want to hear about it. When the Saracens spoke to the commanders, saying,
"Mohammed is the true prophet and not Christ," the commanders asked them, "If there were
two men debating about a field and the one said, `This field is mine,' and the other, `It is not, it
is mine,' and near by, one of them had many witnesses saying it is his field and the other had
no witnesses, but only himself, what would you say, `Whose field is it?'" The Saracens
answered, "Indeed, to him who had many witnesses!" "You have judged correctly," the
commanders answered. That is the way with Christ and Mohammed. Christ has many
witnesses: the Prophets of old, from Moses to John the Forerunner, whom you also recognize
and who witness to and about Him [Christ], but Mohammed witnesses only to himself that he
is a prophet and does not have even one witness. The Saracens were ashamed and again
they tried to defend their faith in this manner: "Our faith is better than the Christian Faith as
proved by this: God gave us the victory over you and gave us the best land in the world and a
kingdom much greater than Christianity." To that the commanders replied, "If it were so, then
the idolatry of the Egyptians, Babylonians, Hellenes, Romans, and the fire-worship of the
Persians would be the true faith for, at one time, all of these people conquered the others and
ruled over them. It is evident that your victory, power and wealth do not prove the truth of your
faith. We know that God, at times, gives victory to Christians and, at other times, allows
torture and suffering so as to correct them and to bring them to repentance and purification of
their sins." After seven years, they were beheaded in the year 845 A.D. Their bodies were
then thrown into the Euphrates river, but they floated to the other side of the shore where they
were gathered and honorably buried by Christians.

2. THE BLESSED JOB

Job was born in Moscow in the year 1635 A.D. Church singing and liturgical services drew
him to the Church. He became the spiritual father to Emperor Peter the Great but, because of
intrigue, he withdrew into the Slovecki Monastery, where he underwent a difficult life of
asceticism. In the year 1720 A.D., in his eighty fifth year, he died in the Lord. Before his death
he cried out, "Blessed is the God of our Fathers and as He is thus, I am not afraid but, with
joy, I leave this world."

3. THE HOLY MARTYRS CONON THE FATHER AND CONON THE SON

When the father was already an old man, the son was a youngster of seventeen years.
During the reign of Domentian, they were sawed in half for their faith in Christ and were
glorified and honored in the Church on earth and in heaven. They honorably suffered in the
year 275 A.D.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT CONON

The emperor counsels the youthful Conon;

From old age, your father is deranged,

 You, young man, do not harken to his words.

But deny and forget Christ,

Offer sacrifice to the Roman gods,

And then remain with me in honor.

The youthful Conon courageously replied:

It is written, O emperor torturer,

That the son does what from the father, he sees,

And of the father's deed, he is not ashamed.

My father, the True Faith teaches me,

The True Faith and the knowledge of God,

That I know the One God,

My Creator, Merciful,

That I know Christ the Savior,

From death, my Redeemer.

Whatever you do with the body of my father,

This also do with mine;

But over the soul, you have no authority,

Our souls are our possessions

And the possessions of the Son of God.

REFLECTION

For as long as you are on earth, consider yourself a guest in the Household of Christ. If you
are at the table, it is He who treats you. If you breathe air, it is His air you breathe. If you
bathe, it is in His water you are bathing. If you are traveling, it is over His land that you are
traveling. If you are amassing goods, it is His goods you are amassing. If you are
squandering, it is His goods that you are squandering. If you are powerful, it is by His
permission that you are strong. If you are in the company of men, you and the others are His
guests. If you are out in nature, you are in His garden. If you are alone, He is present. If you
set out or turn anywhere, He sees you. If you do anything, He remembers. He is the most
considerate Householder by Whom you were ever hosted. Be careful then toward Him. In a
good household, the guest is required to behave. These are all simple words but they convey
to you a great truth. All the saints knew this truth and they governed their lives by it. That is
why the Eternal Householder rewarded them with eternal life in heaven and glory on earth.

CONTEMPLATION
To contemplate the Mystery of Communion as a life-giving cure for the soul and body:

1. As a cure that heals and cleanses the soul from sinful maladies and restores it to life;

2. As a cure that heals and cleanses the body from avarice and vice and restores it to life;

3. As a cure that enlivens man and makes him a healthy member of the immortal Body of
Christ, who, if he is not, would remain decayed to the end and eventually, he would be cut off
and cast aside.

HOMILY

About the heir and the slave

"I mean that as long as the heir is not of age,he is no different from the slave" (Galatians 4:1).

As long as the heir apparent is in the cradle, what would make him better than the son of a
slave? Neither is his body better, nor are his thoughts more elevated, nor are his wishes or
desires more pure. Such is the son of the king; so is the son of the slave; so is the son of the
beggar. For a few years the son of the king does not differ from the son of the slave.
However, when the son of the king reaches maturity and with full consciousness of his dignity,
he receives authority over the kingdom, and when the son of a slave reaches full maturity and
with full consciousness, he succumbs to the yoke of slavery. Then the enormous difference is
seen. Then it is clearly manifest that the heir and the slave are not equal. The slave has to
serve and the king has to rule. The apostle means to say that it is the same with Christians
and with those who are not Christians. The non-Christian is a slave to nature and the
Christian rules over nature. The non-Christian era of the history of mankind shows us how
man was the slave to the elements of nature, the slave of the flesh, the slave of idols and
creatures. The Christian era of the history of mankind shows us how man was master and
owner, a nobleman of a royal race and heir to all. Even those who knew about the One True
God, as the Israelites knew, were not like children toward God nor heirs toward their father
but were slaves and servants toward their Lord and Judge. "But when the fullness of time had
come"(Galatians 4:4), the Only-Begotten Son of God came to earth. He made it possible "so
that we might receive adoption" (Galatians 4:5), and to address the Spirit of God and cry out,
"Abba, Father" (Galatians 4:5). Brethren why did Christ come to earth? He did so to make us
better than slaves and to give us the right of sonship and the duty of the master. The right of
sonship, that in the name Christ, we can call God, Father, and the duty of the master to rule
over ourselves, over our flesh, over our thoughts, over our desires, and over all nature around
us.

O Only-Begotten Son of God, by Your mercy and sacrifice, we have received the adoption of
sons.

O help us that with Your help we may persevere to the end in purity and in truth.
 March 7

1. THE HOLY SEVEN PRIESTLY-MARTYRS IN CHERSON: BASIL, EPHREM, EUGENIUS,

ELPIDUS, AGATHADORUS, AETHERIUS, AND CAPITO

All of them were bishops in Cherson at different times. All suffered and were martyred at the
hands of unbelievers, whether they were Jews, Greeks or Scythians, except Aetherius, who
died peacefully. All of them were sent by the Patriarch of Jerusalem as missionaries to bring
the light of the Gospel to these wild and uncivilized areas. They were tortured and suffered for
their Lord. In Cherson, Basil raised the son of a prince from the dead which embittered the
Jews and they, in turn, brought an accusation against him. He was tied and bound by the feet
and dragged through the streets until his soul departed him. Ephrem was beheaded.
Eugenius, Elpidus and Agathadorus were beaten with rods and stoned until they gave up their
souls to God. Aetherius lived during the reign of Emperor Constantine the Great. He governed
the Church in freedom and peace, erected a large church in Cherson, and died peacefully.
When the last of them, Capito, was appointed bishop for the wild and savage Scythians, they
sought a sign from him that they may believe. They suggested that he enter into a fiery
furnace and, if he was not consumed, they would all believe in Christ. With fervent prayers
and hope in God, Capito placed his episcopal pallium over his shoulders, signed himself with
the sign of the cross, and entered into the flaming hot furnace, keeping his heart close to God.
He remained in the flames for about an hour without any injury or damage, either to his body
or to his vesture. He came out in good health. Then, at once, all of them cried out: "One is
God, the God of the Christians, great and mighty, Who protects His servant in the flaming
furnace." The entire city and all the vicinity were then baptized. This miracle was spoken of at
length at the First Ecumenical Council [Nicaea, 325 A.D.]. The participants in the Council all
glorified God and praised the steadfast and solid faith of St. Capito. It happened that while
Capito was traveling along the Dnieper river, he was captured by the pagan Scythians and
was drowned. All these seven priestly-martyrs suffered during the early years of the fourth
century.

2. THE VERERABLE EMILIANUS

Emilianus was born in Rome and committed many grave sins in his youth. When Emilianus
came to his senses, he refrained from sinning and began to tremble just thinking about the
judgment of God. Emilianus immediately entered a monastery and by fasting, vigils and
obedience, he tamed and shriveled his body. He was an ideal example to his brethren in all
virtuous acts of asceticism. Frequently at night, he would step out of the monastery and enter
into a nearby cave to pray. Not knowing where Emilianus was going, the abbot of the
monastery secretly followed him one night. The abbot saw Emilianus standing at prayer in
reverence and in tears. All at once, a heavenly light, brighter than the sun, encompassed the
entire mountain but especially the cave and Emilianus. A voice was heard from heaven
saying, "Emilianus, your sins are forgiven you." Filled with fright, the abbot hurried back to the
monastery. The next day, he revealed to the brethren what he had seen and heard the
previous night. Great respect was shown to Emilianus by the brethren. He lived long and died
to the Lord.(*)

(*) On this date St. Lawrence is commemorated in the great Greek Synaxarion. He was a
benefactor of the Monastery Phaneromene on the island of Salamis. He lived in Megara as a
married man with two sons. He was righteous and pious. The Holy Birth-Giver of God
appeared to him in a dream and commanded him to go to Salamis and there to restore her
church. He went there and, indeed, he discovered the destroyed ruins and built a new church.
Here, he was tonsured a monk and died on March 7, 1770 A.D. Afterwards, many miracles
occurred in this monastery over the relics of St. Lawrence.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT EMILIANUS
 Emilianus, a grave sinner,

And from sin, the soul aches,

Emilianus, disconsolate

For forgiveness, he prays to God:

O Most High, O Most wonderful,

From Whom the sun has light,

From Whom the angelic choir, its wakeful

Existence, joy and radiance receive!

For You only, O God, do I care,

Repentantly, I return to You,

Only to You do I offer thanks

That now, I truly comprehend life.

Tears, tears, tears, I shed,

Body and spirit now are fasting,

Vision of the world and hearing I conceal,

Forgive, O God, forgive, forgive!

For Your mercy I am a field,

Weed me and cultivate me,

Let my soul be alive,

And the flesh suffer and feel pain.

Of all men, I am the worst,

Behold, I judge myself,

Just do not judge me, O God,

I fear You, Only You!

REFLECTION

A thick rope is made from thin, fibrous strands of hemp. One thin fiber cannot hold you tied
nor can it strangle you. For you will easily, as in jest, break it and free yourself from it. If you
are tied by a thick rope, you can be held bound and even be strangled by it. Neither can you
break it easily nor free yourself from it. As a thick rope consists of thin and weak fibers, so the
passions of man consist of minor sins. Man can break off and turn away from the beginnings
of minor sins. But, when sin after sin is repeated, the weave becomes all the more stronger
and stronger until in the end a passion is created, which then turns man into some kind of
monster as only it knows how. You cannot easily cut it off, nor distance yourself from it, nor
can you divorce yourself from it. O, if only men would beware and take care of the beginnings
of sins! Then, they would not have to endure much in freeing themselves from passions. "To
cut off rooted passions is as difficult as cutting off the fingers," said a monk from the Holy
Mountain. To free himself from sinful passions, St. Emilianus was helped by thinking thoughts
of death and, understandably, the Grace of God, without which it is extremely difficult to rid
oneself of the fetters of passion. To think often of impending death, to repent and to implore
Grace from Almighty God, these three save a man from the bondage of sin. St. Sisoes was
asked, "At which time can passions be uprooted?" The saint replied, "As soon as one passion
takes root in you, uproot it immediately."

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus at prayer in Gethsemane:

1. How He falls on His face and prays three times, "My Father if it is possible, let this cup pass
from me" (St. Matthew 26:39), and again, "Your will be done" (St. Matthew 26:42).

2. How He sweated at prayer, "And His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down
to the ground" (St. Luke 22:44).

3. How all of this was because of you and me; because of my sins and your sins; and for the
sake of my salvation and your salvation.

HOMILY

About the hand of the betrayer

"And yet behold, the hand of the one who is to betray Me is with Me on the table(St. Luke
22:21).

It is most difficult for a general to wage war when he has an enemy within the camp; not only
external enemies, but internal enemies among his own. Judas was considered among his
own. However, he was the enemy from within. Rows of enemies crowded and closed ranks
around Christ and, from within, Judas was preparing betrayal. His hand was on the table
which Christ blessed, and his thoughts were aligned with the enemies where darkest evil,
hatred and malice seethed against the gentle Lord.

Is it not also the same today, that the hand of the many traitors of Christ are at the table with
Him? Which table is not Christ's? On what table are not His gifts? He is the Householder and
He nourishes and feeds His guests. The guests have nothing of their own, nothing! All good
and all abundance which is given to them is given to them by the hand of Christ. Therefore, is
it not so that Christ is present at every table as a Householder and as a Servant? Therefore,
are not those also the hands of all who even today betray Christ on the table together with
Him? They eat His bread and they speak against Him. They warm themselves by His sun and
they slander His name. They breathe His air and they rise up against His Church. They live
off His mercy and they banish Him from their homes, from their schools, from their courts,
from their books and from their hearts. They trample His commandments willfully, maliciously
and ridicule His law. Are they not then the betrayers of Christ and the followers of Judas? Do
not be afraid of them! God did not command that we be afraid of them but wait to see their
end. Our Lord was not afraid of Judas nor is He afraid of all the traitorous hordes until the end
of time. He knows their end and He already has His victory in His hands. Therefore, do not
you be afraid either. Adhere faithfully to Christ the Lord, both when it appears to you that His
causes succeed and go forward in the world and then, again, when it appears to you that His
causes collapse and perish. Do not be afraid! If you become frightened, perhaps your hand
will be found clenched under the hand of Judas at the table of Christ.
O Lord, All-Victorious, sustain us with Your power and mercy.
 March 8

1. SAINT THEOPHYLACTUS, BISHOP OF NICOMEDIA

When the emperor's advisor Tarasius, as a layman, was elected Patriarch ofConstantinople,
then with him and from him, many of his friends, admirers, and others of the laity received the
monastic tonsure. Among them was Theophylactus. Tarasius appointed him Bishop of
Nicomedia. As a bishop, Theophylactus was a good shepherd to his entrusted flock and
proved to be exceptionally filled with compassion toward the less fortunate and indigent. After
the death of St. Tarasius, the Patriarchal Throne was occupied by Nicephorus and shortly
after that, the Imperial Throne was occupied by Leo the Armenian, who was an Iconoclast
and, as such, raised up a absolute storm in the Church of Christ. Even though Iconoclasm
had been anathematized by the Seventh Ecumenical Council [Nicaea, 783 A.D.],
nevertheless, Emperor Leo re-instated it and by this wanted to supplant Orthodoxy. Saint
Theophylactus opposed the emperor to his face and, when the emperor would not yield,
Theophylactus said to him, "O emperor, violent injury will unexpectedly befall you, and you
will not find anyone who will save you from it." Because of these words and by the order of the
emperor, Theophylactus was ousted from his position and banished into exile, where he
spent thirty years undergoing many hardships and insults and, where, in the end, he rendered
his soul to the Lord about the year 845 A.D.

2. THE HOLY PRIEST-MARTYR THEODORETUS

The Emperor Constantine built a cathedral church of special beauty in Antioch. The people
called this church "the golden church" because of the gold-plated exterior and interior and
because of the many appointments of gold and silver housed in it. The emperor donated a
great deal of land to this church for the upkeep of the clergy whose number was significant.
The custodian of these appointments and all other precious items in the church was the
presbyter Theodoretus,(*) and rare devotion. When Julian the Apostate began his reign, he
denied Christ and, even though he was baptized, stirred up a persecution against Christians.
Julian, his uncle of the same name, came to Antioch and began to plunder the "golden
church." He summoned Theodoretus, the custodian of the treasury, to court and counseled
him to deny Christ. Not only did Theodoretus refuse to deny Christ, but he also insulted the
Emperor Julian because of his apostasy from the True Faith and his return to idolatry, as a
dog returning to his own vomit. When the wicked judge, out of rage, urinated in the "golden
church," St. Theodoretus prophesied a horrible death for him, which shortly happened.
Theodoretus was beheaded by an axe for his faith in Christ. From the time that Judge Julian
had urinated in the church, he felt pains in the lower part of his body. The entire lower half of
his body was eaten away by worms, so that he vomited up his apostate soul in the most
horrible pains. Also, according to the prophecy of Theodoretus, Felix, Julian's assistant,
diedof a hemorrhage from the mouth immediately after the beheading of this righteous man.
St. Theodoretus was beheaded in the year 362 A.D. and was translated to the All-glorious
kingdom of Christ the King.]

(*) In the Greek Synaxarion, St. Theodoretus is commemorated on March 3.

HYMN OF PRAISE

ADAM'S LAMENT

Outside the empty Paradise, Adam folds his hands,

Banished and alienated he throbbed from pain;

The angels of heaven, until then his companions,

 As beautiful dreams, flew hurriedly away,

Before the banished one, before the cursed one,

Until yesterday, the mighty proprietor of Paradise!

And Adam sobbed on the cold boulder:

Woe to my descendants! Woe to me a sinner!

For one moment, my Creator I despised

To be despised by all that was created

Throughout the days and nights, throughout the centuries long,

Instead of God, a serpent to have for a companion!

Instead of me, over all created things to rule,

Over me, now, everything will rule:

The winds and the heat, the elements of nature,

The beasts and scorpions, repulsive things and serpents.

Instead of freedom, behold, fear grips me,

And confuses my thoughts and chills me to the bone.

There is only One Who is able to help:

The One that I offended--Have mercy O God!

REFLECTION

Be more trusting in the Lord than in your own mother. Confess all to Him. He will not betray
you. Embrace all of His commandments as beneficial. They will not deceive you. In as much
as you trust in God, so also be vigilant toward your enemies, toward your body, the world and
demons. All of this was expressed much better by the glorious saint of God, Ephrem the
Syrian, saying, "In embracing the commandments of God, have simplicity, and in warding off
hostile intrigues, have the cunning (the dove and the serpent)."

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane:

1. How He repeatedly commands the disciples to watch and pray to God;

2. How He rises three times from His sweat-inducing prayer, goes over to the disciples and
finds that they are asleep;

3. How they were all overcome by temptation because they forsook their teacher and fled for
they were not prepared to overcome the fear of men;
4. How we, too, become lazy and are not vigilant and do not pray to God, for when temptation
comes, we forsake the Lord Christ.

HOMILY

About the vision of the eyes and the vision of the soul

"Coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance"(Philippians 2:7).

This, the Apostle Paul says, that same apostle who said about the Lord Jesus: "He is in the
image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation" (Colossians 1:15), and "In Him dwells
the whole fullness of the Deity bodily" (Colossians 2:9). This is the Lord according to His
essence and according to His internal nature but "found human in appearance." Men, whose
hearts are hardened as stone and whose minds are darkened, recognize objects around
themselves only through their eyes. Such men, in those days, looked with their eyes and saw
Jesus as a man. It was not given to them to know anymore about Him except what their
physical eyes saw. Physical man saw in Jesus and beheld only the body but did not see in
that body neither God nor a perfect and sinless man.

Even today, whosoever judges only by that which he sees denies to Jesus all that he cannot
see in other men. No one can speak the truth about the Lord who judges Him only with their
eyes. That which the eyes can see of Him is but a small veil behind which is hidden the
eternal mysteries of heaven and the greatestmysteries of time and of earth. In order to see
that which is hidden in Him, behind the physical veil, one must have spiritual vision, which is
the Spirit of God in one's heart, the Spirit Who draws back the veil and reveals the mysteries.

O, Lord, Mystery Most Sweet, make us worthy of the visit of Your Holy Spirit.
 March 9

1. THE HOLY FORTY MARTYRS OF SEBASTEA

All of them were soldiers in the Roman army and steadfastly believed in the Lord Jesus.
When the persecution of Christians began during the reign of Licinius, they were brought to
trial before the commander. When he threatened to strip them of their honor as soldiers, one
of them, St. Candidus, responded, "Not only the honor of being a soldier, but take away our
bodies, for nothing is more dear or honorable, to us than Christ our God." After that, the
commander ordered his servants to stone the holy martyrs. While the servants were hurling
stones at the Christians, the stones turned and fell back on the servants, severely striking
them. One of the stones struck the commander's face and knocked out his teeth. The
torturers, angry as wild beasts, bound all of the holy martyrs and tossed them into the lake
and stationed a guard around it so as to prevent any of them from escaping. There was a
terrible frost and the lake froze around the bodies of the martyrs. So that their pain and
suffering would be worsened, and in order to persuade one of them to deny Christ and
acknowledge the idols of Rome, the torturers heated a bath by the side of the lake in sight of
the frozen martyrs. Indeed, one of them was persuaded. He came out of the water and
entered the bath. And behold, an extraordinary light appeared from heaven which warmed the
water in the lake and the bodies of the martyrs. With that light, thirty-nine wreaths descended
from heaven over their heads. Upon seeing this, a guard on the shore removed all his clothes,
confessed the Name of the Lord Jesus and entered the lake so that he could become worthy
of the fortieth wreath in place of the betrayer. Indeed, the last wreath descended upon him.
The next day the entire town was astonished when they saw that the martyrs were still alive.
Then, the wicked judges ordered that the lower part of their legs be broken and their bodies
thrown into the water so Christians could not recover them. On the third day the martyrs
appeared to Peter, the local bishop, and summoned him to gather their relics and remove
them from the water The bishop with his clergy went out into the dark of night and beheld the
relics of the martyrs shining brightly in the water. Every bone which was separated from their
bodies floated to the top and glowed like a candle. Bishop Peter gathered and honorably
buried them. The souls of these martyrs, who suffered for all of us, went to the Lord Jesus,
resurrected with glory. They suffered honorably and were crowned with unfading glory in the
year 320 A.D.

2. THE VENERABLE FILOMORUS

He lived and mortified himself in Galatia in the fourth century. It is said about him that he was
so perfected in all virtues that he resembled an angel rather than a man. He was especially
glorified because of his patience. He was persecuted by the Emperor Julian the Apostate and
suffered much for Christ. After the death of Julian,this wicked persecutor of Christ, St.
Filomorus lived peacefully, benefiting many. He died in his eightieth year.

3. SAINT CAESARIUS

St. Caesarius, the brother of Gregory the Theologian who died in the year 369 A.D., was also
a theological writer. Among other things he attempted to answer the question: How long a
time did Adam and Eve spend in Paradise before their expulsion? Some have determined the
time to be six hours; others, twenty-four hours; and still others, three days. St. Caesarius was
of the mind that the length of time was forty days. "Because," he says, "Our Lord fasted forty
days in the wilderness and during that time He was tempted by the devil. Since the old Adam
could not resist the temptation of the devil in the abundance of Paradise, the new Adam
resisted the devil gallantly in the hungry and thirsty wilderness."

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY FORTY MARTYRS

 Martyrs in the lake shackled by frost,

Strongly adhering to Holy Faith, by hope illumined,

To the dear God, cried out: You, Who astonished the world

By Your awesome sacrifice and resurrection, O You, enliven us!

The firmament of heaven and everything created, glorify You,

Behold, the abyss, fire, hail, snow, ice and heat glorify You!

You helped the great Moses, your servant,

And Joshua Son of Nun, and after that Elisha,

That nature, calm the waters and it, to divide,

Now, help your faithful as you have until now,

Do not allow the frost to be stronger than man,

That we, Forty Martyrs, not become the subject of scorn;

Oh, You can, if You want, for You rule over all,

You, when You want, can change ice into heat and heat into ice;

Because of Your Name, the frost consumes us as an angry beast--

Oh, help us that the Name of the Almighty may be praised!

Martyrs in the lake, shackled by frost,

From heaven, by God's light, were warmed,

Gloriously they fell and remained Forty Martyrs

To the fear, horror and shame of the darkened unbelievers.

REFLECTION

Conceal your spiritual treasures and do not reveal them unnecessarily. Behold, how men
conceal and hide their material wealth and how, when forced to reveal how much they have,
they always conceal the greater amount and only reveal the lesser amount. Very few are the
number of men who want to reveal all that they possess, and fewer still are those who would
reveal more than they, in reality, possess. This, the world considers frivolous and mindless.
This clearly shows you how you need to conceal your spiritual wealth, that is, your virtues,
your good works, your fastings, your vigils, and your prayers. Why do not the wise children of
this world reveal their material wealth? For two reasons: So that thieves would not hear of it
and not to provoke the envy of evil men. There also exist envious and jealous thieves after
spiritual treasure. They are the spirits of envy. As soon as you reveal your spiritual treasure,
they will endeavor to belittle it and to squander it. Just as soon as you reveal it without need
[let us say, out of vanity, so as to be praised], they have seized it and disparaged it; and you,
O rich man of spiritual treasure, will imperceptibly and suddenly become a poor man. Many
who were spiritually rich, the saints, made themselves out to be fools before the world so that
by appearing foolish, they would conceal their great wisdom and strength within themselves.
The Abba Isaiah writes,

"Those good works which are performed in secret are more pleasing to God." St. Nilus of
Sinai says, "The covered skin of the body is white, but the uncovered skin in parched and
black." So it is with our concealed and revealed good works.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus in the hands of the enemies of God gathered together in the
home of Caiaphas:

1. How all of them hurriedly sought false witnesses, for they wanted, by whatever means, to
kill Christ;

2. How they spit in His face and struck Him on the face;

3. How our Lord endures all with unspeakable dignity and without anger.

HOMILY

About enduring to the end

"But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved " (St. Matthew 24:13).

O Lord most wonderful, You have endured all, all to the end. That is why You became not
only blessed but the source of blessings for all men who desire good forthemselves
throughout the ages of ages.

The apostles endured all to the end and entered into blessed eternity. The saints willingly
endured the difficulties and sufferings to the end and were glorified, both in heaven and on
earth.

The martyrs willingly endured all pains to the end and became the adopted co-inheritors of
the Kingdom of Christ.

Every founder of a new organization recruits followers for himself with the promise of good
fruits and many pleasures but deliberately remains silent about the hardships and labors
which lead to those fruits and pleasures. Our Lord Jesus is the only one Who spoke the whole
truth to His followers, both the bitter and the sweet side of the truth. He did not promise fruits
without service, nor glory without suffering, nor ultimate rest without the thorny path, nor
victory without struggle, nor pleasure without bitterness, nor the kingdom without tears and
self-denial.

Although our Lord counted the many difficulties which would befall His followers, in the end
He does not abandon them without comfort. He gives meaning to their sufferings and does
not leave them in darkness. He says, "The one who perseveres to the end will be saved."
What is that blessing which awaits those who endure to the end that He Jesus fully revealed
and that has been witnessed even until today and is being witnessed by many saints, who,
have either appeared in glory to the faithful from the other world or who, while yet in the flesh,
were uplifted in the spirit to a vision of that glory and blessedness which await the faithful, the
chosen and persevering?

O Lord, You are our strength. Help us to endure to the end with faith that You are
beside us.
 March 10

1. THE HOLY MARTYR CODRATUS OF CORINTH AND OTHERS WITH HIM

During the time of the persecution of Christians, many of the faithful fled to the mountains and
into the caves. So did the mother of Codratus. She was pregnant at the time and gave birth to
Codratus in the forest and died shortly thereafter. Codratus was cared for by, fed by and
guided by Divine Providence and by his Guardian Angel. Codratus grew up in nature and in
solitude. He, who gave manna from heaven to the Israelites in the wilderness, dropped from
the clouds a sweet dew on the mouth of the child Codratus. When he was twelve years old,
he entered into town and there some benevolent men took a liking to him and provided him
with an education. He studied medicine and healed the sick, as much with natural cures and
even more by the power of the spirit and prayer, which he was accustomed to since his
childhood. When a new persecution arose again under Decius, Codratus was brought to trial
and cast into prison. Five companions joined him and confessed the name of Christ. They
were Cyprian, Dionysius, Anectus, Paul and Crescens. They were all dragged through the
streets by the pagans, especially by their children. They were beaten with rods and stoned
until they were eventually dragged to the scaffold. There, the martyrs prayed to God and were
beheaded. On this spot a source of watergushed out of the ground which is still called
Codratus even today and is a reminder of the heroic deaths of these six holy innocents for
Christ. They honorably suffered for the truth in the year 250 A.D. in Corinth during the reign of
Emperor Decius and his governor, Jason.

2. THE HOLY MARTYR CODRATUS OF NICOMEDIA

He was a wealthy nobleman and at the same time a staunch baptized Christian. During time
of persecution when Valerian imprisoned many Christians, Codratus bribed the jailers and
entered the prison bringing with him various foodstuffs for those in captivity and strengthened
them in their faith. When they were brought before the judge who questioned them about their
names, their homeland, and their rank, they remained silent. Then Codratus suddenly
appeared behind them and cried out with a loud voice, "By name, we are Christians; servants
of Jesus Christ the Lord, by title and by birth; and our city and homeland is heaven." After this
declaration, he was also arrested and after prolonged and cruel torture was beheaded with
the others.

3. THE VENERABLE MOTHER ANASTASIA

Anastasia was a patrician and lady of the imperial palace of Emperor Justinian. After she was
widowed and when she perceived that Empress Theodora could not tolerate her, she
immediately slipped out of Constantinople and turned up in the wilderness of Egypt. The
renown spiritual father Abba Daniel tonsured her a nun and presented her as the monk
Anastasius the eunuch according to her wishes so that, as a woman under the guise of a
man, she could easily be protected and hidden from the pursuit of the emperor. Anastasia
then closed herself off in a narrow cell where she spent twenty-eight years and died there in
the year 563 A.D. Before her death, the Elder Daniel saw her face glow like the sun.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT ANASTASIA

One time, a glorious patrician Venerable Anastasia,

Money, flattery, abandoned she all,

To Christ, her entire life she directed;

 Christ, her bread; Christ, her water;

Christ, her joy and freedom,

Christ, the restorer of her soul,

Christ, the bridge over death.

Anastasia became shriveled,

The spirit through her withered face shines;

The spirit raises her higher to God,

With the spirit of God, she breathes,

Until illuminated, she became,

By Grace enlightened,

By the power of God strengthened

And among the Living inscribed.

All she forgave, all she loved,

And for the entire world, she prays,

Like an angel, she was indeed,

Wholly fixed on Christ;

By the power of God, more powerful was she

And by riches, more wealthy

Than the Empress Theodora

Amidst the opulence of the imperial court.

REFLECTION

When the forty-two Greek commanders from Ammoria were in Agaha's prison [refer to March
6], certain Muslim sages came to counsel them to embrace the faith of Mohammed and
thereby receive their freedom. These sages stressed to theseChristian commanders the two
advantages of Islam over Christianity: First: Mohammed is a more recent prophet than Christ
and, Second: the Muslims were victorious on all sides over Christianity by which God clearly
points out the truth of their religion. To the first point, the commanders replied, "If two men are
debating over a field, and one has many witnesses that the field is his and the other does not
have any witnesses except his own personal statement, what do you think? Whose field is it?"
To this the Agha's men replied, "By all means, the field is his who had many witnesses." To
that, the commanders replied, "By yourselves you have judged in favor of Christ and against
Mohammed for Christ had with Him the witnesses of all the Prophets and Apostles, but
Mohammed alone witnesses to himself." To the second point, the commanders replied, "If
you would gauge the truth of a faith by victories in wars, then this would mean that all the
idolatrous nations, who from time to time have conquered the world, such as the Persians,
Greeks, Romans and others, possessed the true faith. This, even you Muslims would never
acknowledge. And because you have been victorious over the Christians now, this does not
mean that your faith is better; rather, that our sins are greater and because of this, God
punishes us, through you."

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus at judgment before Caiaphas:

1. How the elders of the Jews searched everywhere for false witnesses;

2. How the witnesses testified to the contrary;

3. How our Lord listened to all the slanders and remained silent and without anger.

HOMILY

About revealed secrets

"Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed nor secret that will not be made known" (St.
Matthew 10:26).

There is one eye, brethren, which never sleeps. That is the eye of God. There are more eyes
in the heavens, brethren, than there are stars in the firmament of heaven. They are the eyes
of the angels. No veil nor any wall nor darkness can conceal any kind of secret on earth from
these eyes. Everything is revealed and open before the All-Seeing God and His Holy Angels.
The man who believes that all the works of man can be hidden becomes a criminal. Thus
thought the elders of the Jews who arranged and plotted in secrecy their evil plot against
Christ the Lord. Secretly they persecuted Him; secretly they judged Him in the darkness of
night; and secretly they bribed and paid false witnesses. And, as did Judas, they secretly
condemned Him. Where are their secrets today? All have become revealed and open before
the entire world. It is easier for man to hide from the air than from the sight of God. All the
secrets of mankind, both, the good and evil, are revealed before God. A countless number of
those secrets God reveals to the entire world according to His Providence. Those who can
understand this truth, that God sees all and knows all, carefully guard themselves from evil
thoughts in the secret of their hearts and especially from evil deeds. Whenever your heart
entices you to do evil, O man, call to mind these words which are not of man but of God,
"Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed nor secret that will not be made known." And
you, whatever good you do in secret, do not become faint-hearted. All of your good is written
in the heavens and will be revealed in its time.

O, All-Seeing Lord, help us and save us.

 March 11

1. SAINT SOPHRONIUS, PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM

Sophronius was born in Damascus of distinguished parents. Having acquired worldly wisdom,
he was, nevertheless, not satisfied but went to seek and acquire spiritual wisdom. In the
monastery [Lavra] of St. Theodosius, he found himself in the company of a monk, John
Moschus, whom he choose for his teacher, and together with him traveled about and visisted
monasteries and those ascetics in Egypt who were practicing the life of asceticism. His watch
word was "Each day learn more about spiritual wisdom." All that they had learned they wrote
down and later published two books under the title, "Spiritual Meadow." Later on, they
traveled to Rome, where Moschus died leaving a testament to Sophronius to have his body
taken, either to Sinai or to the Monastery of St. Theodosius. Sophronius fulfilled the desires
and wishes of his teacher and translated his body to the Monastery of St. Theodosius and
thereafter remained in Jerusalem which, at that time, was liberated from the Persians. He was
present at the Translation of the Honorable Cross from Persia which the Emperor Heraclius
carried on his shoulders into the Holy City. The aged Patriarch Zacharias, who had also
returned from bondage, did not live long thereafter when he took up habitation in the other
world. Patriarch Zacharias was replaced by Modestus who died in 634 A.D. Modestus was
replaced by Blessed Sophronius. He governed the Church for ten years with exceptional
wisdom and zeal. He rose up in defense of Orthodoxy against the heresy of Monotheletism
which he condemned at his Council in Jerusalem before it was condemned at the Sixth
Ecumenical Council [Constantinople, 680 A.D.]. He wrote The Life of St. Mary the Egyptian,
complied The Order of the Greater Blessing of Water, and introduced several new hymns and
songs in the various liturgical services. When the Arab Caliph captured Jerusalem,
Sophronius begged him to spare the lives of the Christians which Omar insincerely promised.
When Omar immediately began to plunder and maltreat the Christians in Jerusalem,
Sophronius, with lamentation, prayed to God to take him from among the living on earth, so
that he would not witness the desecration of the Holy Shrines. God heard his prayer and took
Sophronius to Himself into His heavenly mansion in the year 644 A.D.

2. THE HOLY MARTYR PIONIUS AND OTHERS WITH HIM

Pionius was priest from Syria. He suffered in Smyrna during the time ofpersecution under
Decius. He was condemned to be crucified, for which he was exceedingly glad. As soon as
the soldiers formed a cross and laid it upon the ground, Pionius freely lay on the cross,
stretched out his arms and ordered the soldiers to nail him in the hands with spikes. The
cross was inserted in the ground upside down and a fire was ignited under the head of the
martyr. Many people gathered around. Pionius closed his eyes and prayed to God within
himself. The flames of the fire did not even catch the hairs of his head on fire. When, at last,
the fire was extinguished and when everyone thought that Pionius was dead, he opened his
eyes and cried out rejoicing, "O God, receive my soul," and expired. This saint wrote " The
Life of St. Polycarp of Smyrna," with whom he rejoices in the Kingdom of Christ. He suffered
and was glorified in the year 250 A.D.

3. THE VENERABLE GREGORY SINAITES

Gregory was the abbot of Mount Sinai, a great ascetic and a just man. On the vigil of Pascha
[the Feast of the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ],an angel of the Lord
conveyed him to Jerusalem for the Divine Services and returned him again to Sinai the same
day. He died peacefully in the sixth century.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT PIONIUS

Pionius speaks while being tortured:

 O, citizens of famous Smyrna,

Fellow townsmen of Omar, the well known,

I know that which all of you know,

Not one of you know, that, what I know:

The sweet pleasure of dying, I know

And sweeter yet, hoping in Christ.

I know that death will destroy me not

But just the body, to separate from the soul;

For me, I know that the angels are waiting

In the mansions of the Heavenly King,

And angels, prophets and saints,

Many armies of those chosen by God,

And the wonderful martyrs for Christ.

I know that I am returning to my homeland,

From whence I came here.

The goal of my suffering, I do know,

(You know not why you are torturing me!)

Seethe, O malice, and against me rage!

With outstretched arms, the Savior awaits me,

Strike me, all of you, with greater tortures.

The more difficult the suffering, the sooner the dawn,

The quicker the death, the more joyful the soul.

REFLECTION

"No good works are accomplished by our efforts alone but by the power and will of God.
Nevertheless, God demands effort on our part in conforming to His will." These are the words
of Saints Barsanuphius and John. Few words but much said. We are obliged to labor, to
cultivate and to prepare every good thing, and if some good will take root, grow and bring
forth fruit, that is up to the power and will of God. We plow the furrows and God sows, if He
wills it. We cleanse the vessels of the Spirit and God pours the Spirit into these vessels, if He
wills it. He can do anything if He wills it. And He will do everything that responds to the
highest wisdom and suitability, that is, to His plan of man's salvation. In interpreting the words
of our Lord, "So be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves" (St. Matthew 10:16), St. John
Chrysostom writes that our Lord gave this commandment to His disciples that "they
themselves should cooperate in some way, so that it will not to appear that all effort is of
Grace alone and for them not to think that they received the wreaths of glory for nothing." And
so, both of them are indispensable for our salvation: our effort and the power of God's Grace.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord at judgment before Caiaphas:

1. How the High Priest of the Jews detains our Lord in his home surrounded by men almost
as wretched as he himself;

2. How Peter, sitting outside in the courtyard by the fire and how before the servants, denies
our Lord Jesus three times;

3. How even today, it happens that some Christians, out of fear of the world, deny the Lord in
this manner: How they also purport not to be Christians; that they are not familiar with the
commandments of the Lord and are not concerned about the Lord.

HOMILY

About the second coming of Christ

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, He will sit upon His
glorious throne" (St. Matthew 25:31).

This is how our Lord spoke just before His most horrible humiliations, before being bound,
before being spat upon, before being slapped, and before being ridiculed prior to His
crucifixion. In His most darkest hour, He speaks about His most vivid and most glorious hour.
Before His most terrible and miserable departure from this world, He speaks about His
second coming in His glory. At first, He came from the cave in Bethlehem, humble and
unseen, and the second time, He will come on the clouds of His angels. The first time as
though He sprouted out of the earth, and the second time He will appear from the heavens.
The first time He stood and knelt on the ground, and the second time He will be sitting on His
throne of Glory.

When He comes again on His throne of Glory, He will not be unseen by anyone. No one will
ask, as did the wise men [the Magi] before his first coming,

"Where is the King?" (St. Matthew 2:2). At this time, everyone will see the King and recognize
Him as the King. But this vision and recognition will be for some, their joy and for some, their
fear and terror. Just think of the joy of those who have fulfilled His commandments, those who
have prayed in His Name, those who have performed good works and especially those who
have suffered for His Name! Just think of the fear and terror of all those who have spat on
Him, struck Him and crucified Him in Jerusalem.

O, Merciful Lord, forgive all of us who call upon Your Name and who because of our
weaknesses, sin against You; forgive us before that great marvelous hour when You
begin to appear in Your glory with all Your holy angels.
 March 12

1. VENERABLE THEOPHANES THE CONFESSOR

Theophanes is called the Sygrian [Sigrian] because of Sygriana [Sigriana], the place of his
birth. He was a kinsman of the Emperor Leo Isaurian and his son Copronymos. He
possessed great wealth and splendor. But all of this lost its worth for Theophanes when the
Lord Christ began to reign in his soul. He resisted his own marriage and, when he was
compelled to marry, succeeded in counseling his bride to live together in chastity, as brother
and sister. As soon as his parents died, his wife entered a convent and he, a monastery. His
monastery was located in the Sygrian Mountains in the Province of Cyzicus. The one-time
glorious and wealthy Theophanes lived in this monastery as the least of the poor. All were
amazed at the change in him. Having become renown because of his strong faith, abstinence,
and wisdom, he was summoned to the Seventh Ecumenical Council [Nicaea, 783 A.D.]where
the veneration of icons was confirmed. Because of his purity and chastity, God bestowed
upon him the gift of performing miracles, by which he cured all diseases, especially maniacal
disorders and insanity. He prayed to God for all the sick and the unfortunate and, through his
prayers, helped them. Only when he became ill and his illness lingered for a while, did he
refuse to pray to God for the restoration of his own health but endured his illness with
gratitude. When the Iconoclastic persecution resumed again under the wicked Leo the
Armenian, Theophanes was brought to Constantinople and cast into prison, where he
languished for two years in hardships, pain and humiliation. Then the emperor banished him
into exile to the island of Samothrace, which he had earlier foreseen in his spirit and had
mentioned it to his jailers. After he arrived at Samothrace, he lived for twenty-three days and
appeared before His Lord and Creator to receive his merited wreath of glory.

2. VENERABLE SIMEON THE NEW THEOLOGIAN

This God-bearing and great Father of the Church was born in Galatia, Paphlagonia. Simeon
was educated in Constantinople and was assigned as a courtier in attendance to the
Emperors Basil and Constantine Porphyrogenitus. Simeon left all for the sake of Christ and
retreated to a monastery. He lived a life of asceticism under the direction of the Elder Simeon,
after which he became the abbot of the Monastery of St. Mamas and in the end became a
recluse. He is the greatest theologian after St. Gregory the Theologian. Simeon felt God's
Grace in his heart. His words are true spiritual and theological revelations. He died in 1032
A.D. His relics are miracle-performing.

3. SAINT GREGORY DIALOGUES, THE POPE OF ROME

The son of Senator Gordianus and afterwards, himself, a senator and mayor of the city of
Rome. As soon as his father died, Gregory surrendered himself to the spiritual life. From his
wealth he built six monasteries in Sicily and the seventh in the city of Rome, in honor of St.
Andrew the Apostle, in which he was tonsured a monk. Sylvia, his mother, entered a convent
and was tonsured a nun. After the death of Pope Pelagius II, Gregory was chosen Pope. He
fled from this honor and authority hiding himself in the mountains and ravines, but the Lord
revealed him to those who were seeking him in the following manner: a fiery column
appeared from the ground to heaven over the place where Gregory hid himself. He was
exceptionally charitable. All of his income was used for building shelters and hospices for the
needy. Often he invited less fortunate men and served them around the table. He spent his
time writing beneficial [inspirational] books. He is also called Dialogues because he wrote a
book under that name in which he extolled the miracles of the Italian saints. He also
composed the "Liturgy of the Pre-Sanctified Gifts," which is celebrated on Wednesdays and
Fridays of the Great Lenten Season. His Arch-deacon Peter saw a dove flying above
Gregory's head as he was seated and writing. He presented himself before the Lord in the
year 604 A.D.

HYMN OF PRAISE
 SAINT THEOPHANES

Leo the Armenian offers Theophanes,

Offers riches as much as he wants,

Only his name to sign

On the evil roster of iconoclasts.

From the dungeon, Theophanes to him, writes:

O, emperor, to please you I cannot,

Neither, can I to God and to you be true.

While I was young and agreeable to the world

Immense wealth, I had,

Left all and turned to God,

Distributed all, and to the wilderness retreated,

Yet in the wilderness I did not have hunger,

By Himself, God feeds and sweetens me.

In my old age, what do you offer me?

Dust that I despised in early youth!

Nothing, O emperor, to me can you give

That the Lord does not give me a hundred-fold,

Except tortures, for which I waited so long,

From the world, tortures will separate me

And unite me with the All-Precious Lord.

O, emperor, why do you against icons, wage war?

Was not Christ Himself as an icon,

As an icon of the Eternal Hypostases,

As an icon of the Trinity Almighty,

As an icon of the unseen God,

Unseen and unapproachable.

 Both you and me, will He judge,

Rule, O emperor, hope in your replacement.

The world passes, only God remains,

Whoever is with God, does not fear the world.

REFLECTION

No one, not even the Lord Himself, can easily instruct the proud. No one wants to give
instructions to him who cries out that he knows everything. "For great is the power of God; by
the humble, He is glorified" says the wise Sirach. (The Book ofEcclesiasticus - Sirach 3:19),
David also speaks about God saying, "He guides the humble to justice, He teaches the
humble His way" (Psalm 25:9). The proud person is he who wants to teach everyone and
himself does not want to be taught anything by anyone. The humble is he who does not wish
to teach anyone but continually desires to be taught regardless by whom. An empty spike
[ear] of grain raises its head above the entire field and the full spike [ear] of grain hangs down
with bowed head. O proud man, if only your Guardian Angel would somehow remove the veil
from your eyes and show you the endless open sea of all that you do not know, you would
kneel before every man before whom you have exhibited pride and kneel before every man
whom you have belittled. You would cry out lamenting, "Forgive me, forgive me! I do not know
anything!" Often times, to the humble and pius the time when they are about to die is
revealed, but the death of the proud comes unexpectedly and without warning. St. Gregory
Dialogues speaks of a bishop, Carpus, who daily celebrated the Divine Liturgy and how
suddenly someone appeared from the other world and said, "Continue to do what you are
doing in serving me and may your legs never grow tired or your hands weakened. On the
feast day of the Dormition of the Mother of God [The Assumption], you will come to Me and I
will give you your reward in My Heavenly Kingdom, together with all of those for whom you
have prayed at the Divine Services." After a year, on the feast of the Dormition, Bishop
Carpus celebrated the Divine Liturgy of God, sought forgiveness from his priests, and gave up
his soul to God. His face glowed like the sun.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus before Pilate:

1. How the Jews accused Him before Pilate and how He does not say anything;

2. How He does not reply, even to Pilate's questions;

3. How our Lord speaks when it is necessary to defend men from the devil, from sin, from
disease and death but is silent when it is asked that He, the Defender of Men, protect Himself
from man.

HOMILY

Again, about the second coming of Christ

"And all the nations will be assembled before Him" (St. Matthew 25:32).

All the nations will be assembled before the Lord Jesus when He appears in His glory
surrounded by Holy Angels sitting on a throne as the judge of all the living and the dead. "All
nations will be assembled," all, without exception. Not only the Jews who tormented Him, not
only the Christians who glorified Him but also the heathen who knew Him not, nor
acknowledged Him. For if He did not appear to all nations, He sent to all nations someone or
He gave something for the sake of knowing God's will and for the sake of salvation. That is
why all nations must appear before Him for judgment. O what an awesome and majestic
spectacle when all the nations and all the tribes on earth are assembled before the Lord, Who
is brighter than many suns. What joy for the holy martyrs and confessors when they see how,
in this countless mass of nations, there is not one tongue left at all to deny the divinity of the
Lord Jesus! But, it will not be of any value to anyone in that hour and in that place to
recognize and to confess the divinity of our great Lord, if they denied Him on earth. There and
then accounts will settled, not gain nor loss. He who appears before the Lord with
whatsoever, with that he will be either condemned or justified.

Now is the time to acknowledge the divinity of the Lord Jesus, now, when many deny Him and
when His divinity is doubted by many. They who love the Lord and who have trust in all of His
words will easily acknowledge this. For when He says this, about what do they who love Him
have to worry, to doubt, or to hesitate.

O Lord, Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us!

 March 13

1. SAINT NICEPHORUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Nicephorus governed the Holy Church wisely and zealously as one of the greatest Arch-
pastors of Constantinople. When Leo the Armenian rose up against icons, Nicephorus alone
defied the emperor. He first counseled the emperor and then later unmasked him. That is why
the depraved emperor banished him to the island of Prokenesis. On this island there was a
monastery which Nicephorous had built in honor of Saint Theodore. This confessor of the
Orthodox Faith remained in this monastery for thirteen years and afterwards presented
himself to the Lord in the year 827 A.D. Since all the iconoclastic emperors had perished, and
Michael, with his mother Theodora, sat on the Imperial Throne, Patriarch Methodius then was
restored to the Patriarchal Throne. The relics of St. Nicephorous were translated from
Prokenesis to Constantinople in 846 A.D. and were reposed, first in the Church of the Divine
Wisdom of God [St. Sophia], from which he was banished during his life, and later reposed in
the Church of the Twelve Apostles. The principal feast of this great hierarch is
commemorated on June 2 and again on March 13 when the discovery and translation of his
incorruptible relics is commemorated. On March 13, St. Nicephorous was banished from
Constantinople and then, again, on March 13, nineteen years later, his relics were returned to
the Capitol.

2. SAINT CHRISTINA THE PERSIAN

For her unwavering confession of faith in Christ, she was cruelly tortured in Persia in the
fourth century. So much did they torture her, flogging her with a whip, that she became weak
and died. Her soul then departed from her tortured body and entered into the joy of Christ, the
King and Lord.

3. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR, PUBLIUS

This priestly-martyr was successor to the episcopal throne of the glorious Dionysius the
Areopagite in Athens. As a bishop, he was tortured by the pagans and beheaded in the
second century. After a brief period of torture, he inherited life eternal.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Constantinople, wondrous city near the Bosphorus blue,

With your glory, whose glory can be measured?

You were an awesome battleground of spiritual warriors,

Blasphemous heretics and saints of God.

As through a sieve you sifted throughout the centuries long

And declared apostates and servants of God.

By many sins you are soiled, and by filth of sinners,

You are consecrated with the abundance of the blood of martyrs.

Who could enumerate the spiritual heroes,

 And all heavenly visions and your mysteries, all?

The angels of God often swooped down upon you,

And men, as angels, to heaven were raised.

The Mother of God, many times, within you appeared,

To deliver those in danger, the sick to heal.

The flock of wonderful saints, over you, hover

And the prayers of your children, to the Most High, bear.

O, how many saints were your children!

As many as there are lilies next to lilies and saints next to saints!

History and calendar, in red, you wrote,

By your effort even the great Symbol [The Creed] was written.

And about you, in such a way, this could be said:

Among the many cities, a red letter you are.

With Holy Faith, you enlightened the universe

From paganism and heresies, the world you healed.

Tortured much, but not slain, you have not yet passed.

That is why we all celebrate you! Confessor, that you are!

Throughout the earth and in the heavens, your glory echoes;

Everyone baptized, a great gratitude owes you.

REFLECTION

Great are those Christians who have a great love for Christ. O, in truth, how great were those
Christians; those God-bearing fathers and martyrs! For so many in our time, this is impossible
even to imagine. This is what one of them, St. Simeon, the New Theologian, confessed
before all the monks in his monastery: Speaking from his own personal experience about how
the words of the Lord, "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (St. Matthew 11:29), were
realized in him. Simeon said, "Believe me, when I fled to God, my Savior, I did not encounter
anything sorrowful, difficult or unbearable. The only great and unbearable sorrow I had was
that I could not find enough satisfactory reasons to die for the sake of the love for Christ." Are
not such souls as a burning flame enclosed in eathern vessels? Burning flames are always
upright, directed toward heaven. Only remove the covering and the flame will shoot upward.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus at the judgment before Herod:

1. How Herod at first was very kind because he saw Jesus not out of any spiritual need, but
out of curiosity;

2. How Herod had hoped to see a miracle from Jesus, but he was fooled for the Lord
remained silent to all of his questions;

3. How Herod ridiculed the Lord and how he clothed Him in a white garment.

HOMILY

About the reconciliation of the wicked for the sake of evil

"Herod and Pilate became friends that very day, even though they had been enemies
formerly" (St. Luke 23:13).

In His shame and humiliation, the Just Man does good to His enemies. He reconciles them. It
is true, in this case, that their reconciliation did not imply mutual cooperation for some good
deed but mutual persecution of the Just One. At least the flame of hatred between them was
extinguished and died out. That was the reward of the Just One. Pilate and Herod were
enemies. On that day, when the Savior was brought for judgment, before the one and the
other, they [Pilate and Herod]were reconciled. The Prince of Peace brought peace between
the quarreling parties; peace which helped to hew out a cross for Him. But He also comes to
be a willing sacrifice for the sins of many.

Even today common enemies make peace among themselves when they find it necessary to
attack and condemn the Lord. There are many who kill one another until you mention the
Name of the Lord to them. As soon as they hear that Name, they gradually make peace
among themselves for the sake of attacking that Holy Name. It is easier for the unjust to
tolerate the unjust than it is for them to tolerate the just. It is easier for the unjust to come to
an understanding and reconciliation with the unjust than with the just.

Even in some countries, the most quarrelsome parties seek reconciliation among themselves
when it is deemed necessary to decide what place should be given to the Lord Jesus Christ in
the State, either to render Him the first place, which is befitting to Him, or the last place? To
these questions sworn enemies reconcile among themselves in order that our Lord will be
given the last place only. So, also, it was with the quarreling parties of Pharisees and
Saducees who were reconciled and entered into a partnership against Christ.

Why is it that the Most Pure and the Most Needed had to be awarded the last place?
Because, according to their thinking, the first place would then be reserved for them. The
same incentive was there between sworn enemies, the Pharisees and Saducees, when it was
deemed necessary to seek to put Christ to death. The same incentive was the occasion that
caused the reconciliation between Pilate and Herod when it was deemed necessary to judge
that Christ had to be put to death.

O my brethren, let us not ever seek peace with injustice against justice. Rather, let us always
seek peace with God, and that with a clear conscience.

O God, help us so that we may always possess such a peace.

 March 14

1. THE VENERABLE BENEDICT

Benedict was born in Nursia [Norcia] a province in Italy, in the year 480 A.D., of wealthy and
distinguished parents. He did not remain long in school for he alone saw that because of lack
of knowledge one can lose "the great understanding of his soul." He left school "an unlearned
wise man and an understanding fool." He retreated to a monastery where he was tonsured by
the monk Romanus after which he withdrew to a steep mountain where he remained in a
cave for more than three years in a great struggle over his soul. Romanus brought him bread
and lowered it down the steep mountain on a rope to the opening of the cave. When Benedict
became known in the vicinity and in order to retreat from the glory of man, he withdrew from
this cave. He was merciless toward himself. Once, when an unclean and raging passion of
the flesh seized him, he removed all his clothes and rolled around naked in the thorns until he
repelled every thought of a woman. God endowed him with many spiritual gifts: he discerned
thoughts; he healed; he expelled evil spirits; he raised the dead; he appeared to some openly;
and to others who were distant, he appeared in dreams. At one time, Benedict perceived that
the glass of wine served to him was poisoned. When he made the sign of the cross over it,
the glass burst. In the beginning he established twelve monasteries and in all of them, he
placed twelve monks each. Later on, he founded the special order of the Benedictines which
exists even today in the Roman Church. On the sixth day before his death, he ordered that
his grave which had been prepared earlier be opened for the saint foresaw that his end was
near. He assembled all the monks, counseled them and then gave up his soul to the Lord
whom he had faithfully served in poverty and in purity. Scholastica, his sister by birth, lived in
a convent and looking up to her brother, she greatly mortified herself and reached a high state
of spiritual perfection. When St. Benedict gave up his soul, two monks, one traveling on the
road and one at prayer in a far away cell, simultaneously saw the same vision. They saw a
path extending from earth to heaven, covered with a precious woven fiber and illuminated on
both sides by rows of men. At the head of the path, there stood a man of indescribable beauty
and light who said to them that this path was prepared for Benedict, favored by God. As a
result of this vision, these two brothers learned that their good abbot departed from this world.
He died peacefully in the year 543 A.D. and entered into the eternal Kingdom of Christ the
King.

2. SAINT EUSCHEMON, BISHOP OF LAMPSACUS

At the time of the Iconoclastic controversy Euschemon endured persecution and

imprisonment. He died during the reign of Emperor Theophilus, the Iconoclast (829-842 A.D.).

3. SAINT THEOGNOSTUS

Theognostus was Metropolitan of Kiev. He was a Greek by origin and a successor to St.
Peter of Kiev. He suffered much from the Mongol hordes, especially at the hands of Janibeg
Khan. Theognostus was slandered by his own Russian people before the Mongolian emperor
because he did not render the emperor any tribute for his episcopal rank. When the emperor
summoned and questioned him concerning this, Theognostus replied: "Christ our God has
redeemed this Church from paganism by His Precious Blood. For what and on what should I
pay tribute to the pagans?" In the end he was released and returned home. He governed the
Church for twenty-five years. He died to the Lord in the year 1353 A.D.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT BENEDICT

Benedict, a mighty-miracle-worker, was he,

A tearful devout person and a companion dear.

 Led by the Spirit of God, by faith was correct,

A loving leader, mighty, resolute and humble.

Placid was his novice young;

Once, rising early, to the water Placid, he went,

At that moment holy father [Benedict] prayed to God,

But at once, his spirit perceived in the distance:

Behold, the brook suddenly rose, tumbling stones;

Placid already in death, tosses in the torrent,

The brook seized him and with him was toying,

The saint heard a scream, his own name he heard.

There, faith is necessary, but also pursuit,

Quickly, the Elder, Maurus the monk he sent.

Maurus, with a hurried leap, in the water jumped,

On the water as on a road, to Placid he rushed

And Maurus unaware, that on the water he was walking,

[The] prayers of the saint upheld him on the surface.

When Maurus and Placid to the elder came,

Kissed the elder's hand and Placid sobbed:

I saw you, O elder, above my head,

When my heart was overly-filled with dread

By the hairs you grabbed me and above the water lifted me

Until, in that moment, Maurus to my assistance came!

Through the prayers of Holy Father Benedict,

God, also proclaimed Maurus as a miracle-worker.

REFLECTION

We can hardly find a better example as to how we should not become lazy and how we
should not procrastinate in prayer and in work for tomorrow's day than by this example which
is given to us by St. Ephrem the Syrian. "Once a brother was inspired by the devil to think:
Give yourself rest today and tomorrow rise for vigil." But he answered the thought, "Who
knows, perhaps, I will not even get up tomorrow, that is why I need to rise today." Before
work, he was also inspired with this thought, "Give yourself rest today and complete your work
tomorrow." And again he responded, "No, I will complete my work today and about
tomorrow's day, the Lord will take care of it." St. Anthony teaches, " Before the closing of each
day, arrange your life as though this is your last day on earth and you will protect yourself
from sins."

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus before Pilate:

1. How the Lord is silent before Pilate;

2. How Judas, at that time, threw the pieces of silver into the Temple and hanged himself;

3. And again, how Pilate questions and the Lord is silent.

HOMILY

About Christ's prophecy concerning His Glory

"From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power and coming
on the clouds of heaven"(St. Matthew 26:24).

He who does not see God as the merciful Samaritan on earth will see Him as the Dreadful
Judge in Heaven. So blinded were the leaders of the Jews that they were unable to see in
Christ the Lord neither God, nor the Messiah, nor a Prophet, nor even a simple good man.
They placed Him beneath ordinary good people. Not only that, they placed Him even lower
than the thieves. They released Barabas and they condemned Christ! In general, they did not
even consider Christ a man. They spit upon Him; they mocked Him; they made a masquerade
of Him, as some cheap and unneeded thing. Exactly at that moment when the Jews
maliciously played with Christ as some cheap and unneeded thing, the Lord suddenly opened
His mouth and spoke, "From now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of
the Power and coming on the clouds of Heaven." What a distance there is between what
Christ is in truth and that which the Jews held Him to be!

The Son of Man, Who sits on the right hand of Power, is the Son of God, our Lord Jesus
Christ, Who was seen as such soon after that by the Holy Arch-Deacon Stephen and many
many others. The Son of Man Who comes on the clouds with angels and countless numbers
of powers and heavenly hosts is again that same Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, as He
was seen in His Revelation, written by St. John, the Theologian and Evangelist.

O my brethren, do not be misled by deluding and illusionary tales of those men who
speak, "When we see Christ in the Heavens as God, then we will believe in Him."
That faith will be a little too late, and in vain will that vision be. With our faith we
must see Christ as God in that humiliated, spat upon, beaten, bloodied, and ridiculed
man; in that silent and condemned One in the court of Caiaphas Whom the Jews
considered as something cheap and unneeded and Whom they turned into a
masquerade. This is the Faith that is valued in the heavens. This is the Faith that is
rewarded by resurrection and immortality. This is the Faith which, until now, nurtured
and transplanted to heaven numerous armies of the holiest souls, of the strongest
characters, the most forbearing heroes and the most illustrious minds. O humiliated
Lord, raise us up to this Faith.
 March 15

1. THE HOLY MARTYR AGAPIUS AND THE SEVEN WITH HIM: PUBLIUS, TIMOLAUS,
ROMULUS, ALEXANDER, ALEXANDER, DIONYSIUS AND DIONYSIUS

They all suffered in Caesarea in Palestine at the hand of Prince Urban during the reign of
Emperor Diocletian. All seven were extremely young men, none of whom were Christians,
except Agapius. Neither were they baptized with water, but theirs was a "baptism by blood."
One day these seven young men were observing how Christians were being tortured; one in
the fire, another on the gallows and a third before wild beasts. Seeing with what great
forbearance these Christians endured all pain and sufferings, these seven became inflamed
with a zeal for Christ. They tied their hands behind their backs and came before Urban
saying, "We also are Christians." The flattery and threats of Urban remained, but in vain.
These young men were joined by a distinguished citizen of this town, Agapius, who, until
then, had suffered much for Christ. They became all the more enflamed in their faith and love
for the Lord. All were beheaded in the year 303 A.D. and took up their abode in the mansions
of the Heavenly King.

2. THE HOLY MARTYR ALEXANDER

Alexander was from the city of Side in Pamphylia. A deputy of the Emperor Aurelius asked
Alexander, "Who are you and what are you?" To that, Alexander replied that, he is a
shepherd of the flock of Christ." "And where is this flock of Christ?," further inquired the
wicked and suspicious governor. Alexander replied, "Throughout the entire world where men
live whom Christ the God created, and among those who believe in Him, they are His sheep.
But all who are fallen away from their Creator and are slaves to creation, to man-made things
and to dead idols, such as you, are estranged from His flock. At the dreadful judgment of
God, they will be placed on the left with the goats." The wicked judge then ordered that
Alexander, first of all, be beaten with oxen straps and then thrown into a fiery furnace. But the
fire did not harm him in any way. After that, he was skinned and was thrown to the wild
beasts, but the beasts would not touch him. Finally, the deputy ordered thatAlexander be
beheaded. Just as soon as the judge pronounced the sentence, he became possessed by an
evil spirit and went insane. Howling, the judge was led before his god-idol and on the way, his
evil soul was wrenched from him. St. Alexander suffered between the years 270 - 275 A.D.

3. THE HOLY MARTYR NICANDER, THE EGYPTIAN

Nicander was skinned and then beheaded for his faith in Christ. As a physician, his crime was
that he ministered to Christian martyrs and honorably buried their martyred bodies. He
suffered honorable in the year 302 A.D.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY MARTYRS AGAPIUS, ALEXANDER AND NICANDER

From every state, the Lord chooses His army,

Everyone in whom the flame of love and faith burns;

From among physicians, sages, peasants and laborers,

From among emperors and fishermen--an army of martyrs!

The sword beheaded, the Lord received the wise Alexander,

The sword beheaded, the Lord took the merciful Nicander,

 The sword beheaded eight beautiful and young apples,

Beneath the sword, the All-sustaining Hand receives them.

Those whom the world from its sheepfold scoops up and discards

With His tender hand, the Lord gathers as the most beautiful blossoms.

Shoveled aside as a weed, the first citizen

Agapius, the Lord, as His son, received.

Ten martyrs and glorious men

Now, sing in eternity in the angelic choir.

It is not the same to die, to die, although for what:

Some of the dead are blessed and others cursed.

Who dies for Christ's sake, with him is blessing,

Who dies persecuting Christ, curse is with him.

RELECTION

Love for whomever or for whatever, even love for oneself can, in time, grow cold in man, can
be lost altogether and can even be twisted into hatred. But the love of man for God, once
gained and established, is more difficult to cool off, except if one loses his mind. In the first
instance man diminishes or erases his love either out of change in himself or because of a
change in the objects of his love. In the second instance man can diminish his love toward
God only because of a change in him and never because of a change in God. All of this is
neatly and clearly explained by St. Isaac the Syrian saying, "There is a kind of love that is
similar to a brook following a rainfall which quickly ceases after the rain stops. But there is a
love similar to a spring which erupts through the earth, which never ceases. The first love is
humanlove, and the second love is Divine Love." St. Simeon the New Theologian, speaks
about Divine Love, "O Holy Love! You are the end of the Law. You overcome me; You warm
me; You inflame my heart to immeasurable love for God and my brothers. Out of love, God
became man. Out of love, He endured all His life-giving suffering in order to deliver man from
the throes of Hades and bring him to heaven. Out of love, the apostles completed their
difficult course. Out of love, the martyrs shed their blood in order not to lose Christ."

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus when Pilate brought Him out before the Jews:

1. How the Lord was flogged by the Roman soldiers;

2. How after flagellation, He was mocked by them; they placed a thorny crown upon His head
and dressed Him in a purple robe;

3. How Pilate presents Him to the Jews saying, "Behold the man!" (St. John 19:5).

HOMILY

About the prophecy concerning the desolate house

"Behold, your house will be abandoned, desolate"(St. Matthew 23:38).

Why did our Lord remain silent at the judgment before the Jews and before Pilate? Because,
prior to that, He had said everything that needed to be said. He said and foretold how the
Jewish elders would hand him over to the unbelievers and how they would kill Him. Many
times He had foretold what would personally befall Him. This, His apostles heard and
carefully remembered. He also foretold His terrible punishment which the Jews will assume
upon themselves by their evil abomination against the Son of God. Even the Jews heard this
and forgot it. "Behold, your housewill be abandoned, desolate." The Lord foretold this about
the Jews. And this, the Jews heard and forgot. But much later, many remembered these
prophetic words, many of whom had participated in the Great Evil when the Romans
destroyed Jerusalem, plundered it, set it on fire, dispersed its inhabitants and displaced them
throughout the world. Many were killed either by suffocation, by starvation or by crucifixion on
a cross. The Jews, out of fear and annoyance, forced Pilate to raise his hand against the Lord
Jesus. Afterwards, the Roman Empire raised its hand against the Jews. On that day when the
prophecy of the Lord was fulfilled, the Roman Empire, represented in Jerusalem at one time
by Pilate, raised its hand against Jerusalem and their children with a very sharp sword. When
Emperor Hadrian restored Jerusalem, he renamed it (Aelia Capitolina)(*) and forbade the
Jews from settling in Jerusalem under penalty of death. "Behold, your house will be
abandoned, desolate." From that time on, until today, Jerusalem was left deserted by the
Jews as a people (nation). The children of the wicked ancestors who killed Christ were
dispersed everywhere, even to this day, but in their own home.(**) Lord, Almighty and All-
Seeing, forgive us our sins.

(*) Hadrian renamed Jerusalem Aelia after his name, for his was called Aelius.

(**)Nota Bene: The State of Israel was established May 14, 1948.
 March 16

1. THE HOLY APOSTLE ARISTOBULUS, ONE OF THE SEVENTY APOSTLES

Born in Cyprus, Aristobulus was the brother of the Apostle Barnabas. He followed the Apostle
Paul, who mentions him in his Epistle to the Romans saying, "Greet those who belong to the
family of Aristobulus" (Romans 16:10). When the great apostle appointed many bishops
throughout the various parts of the world, he appointed Aristobulus as bishop for the British,
that is, England. In Britain the people were savages, heathen and wicked. Aristobulus
endured many indescribable tortures, misfortunes and evil among them. They struck and beat
him mercilessly, dragged him about the streets, ridiculed and mocked him. Finally this holy
man succeeded 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, in the end,
died there peacefully and entered into the Kingdom of the Lord, Whom he faithfully served.(*)

(*) In the Greek Synaxarion the Venerable Christodulos is also mentioned on this day. He
lived a life of asceticism on the island of Patmos, where he build a monastery dedicated to St.
John the Theologian. He died in the year 1111 A.D. Many miracles occured over his relics.

2. THE HOLY MARTYR SABINUS

Sabinus was a Syrian from the city of Hermopolis and an official of that city. At the time of a
persecution against the Christians, he withdrew to a mountain with a large number of other
Christians and closed himself off in a hut, where he spent his time in fasting and prayer. A
certain beggar, who brought him food and for whom Sabinus performed a good deed,
reported him. As did Judas to Christ, so also, this unfortunate one betrayed his benefactor for
two pieces of gold. Sabinus, with six others, were apprehended, bound by the soldiers and
brought to stand trial. After great and enormous pains he was cast into the Nile river where he
gave up his soul to God in the year 287.A.D.

3. THE PRIEST-MARTYRS TROPHIMUS AND THALLUS

They were born in Syria and were brothers by birth. They openly and freely preached Christ
and denounced the folly of the Hellenes [Greeks] and Romans. The enraged pagans decided
to have them stoned to death, but when they began hurling stones upon these two holy
brothers, the stones reverted and struck the assailants and the brothers remained unharmed.
Afterward they were both crucified. From their crosses the brothers taught and encouraged
those Christians who stood sorrowfully around. After much agony they presented their souls
to the Lord to Whom they remained faithful to the end. They suffered honorably in the year
300 A.D., in the city of Bofor.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINTS TROPHIMUS AND THALLUS

Two blood-brothers imbued by the Spirit,

Illumined and regenerated by faith,

These two brothers, on the Cross crucified,

Counseled the masses of right-believing people:

O, brethren, why upon us, from below, do you gaze?

Because of our difficult sufferings, do not, bitterly weep!

 Christ our Savior, Doer of heroic deeds,

Because of such sufferings, the Redeemer, He became,

The Redeemer of the entire human race,

Listening to Him, we are being saved.

He obeyed the Father, and to the earth descended,

Suffered and resurrected, into Heaven ascended.

To Him we harken and sufferings endure,

Through sufferings, into His kingdom we walk.

Fear not brethren, neither fire nor sword,

The justice of Christ, than the entire world is stronger.

Fear not brethren, nor for yourself feel sorrow,

For eternal salvation, deny yourself.

All sufferings are small, trivial and bearable,

Compared to the rewards of Paradise, eternal and sublime.

The world, a false mask, is an insane illusion,

Eternity, that is our true homeland.

Give the world to those who love the lie of the world,

And because of lies, they forfeit life and truth,

You, seize the pearl above the mud of the world -

Harken, brethren, to Trophimus and Thallus!

REFLECTION

If we fulfill the law of God in our thoughts, how much easier would it be then for us to fulfill it in
our deeds? That is, if we do not transgress the law of God in our thoughts, how much easier
would it be not to transgress it in our deeds? Or still, if our hearts, tongues, hands and feet
are with God, then our entire body cannot be against God. Heart, heart, prepare your heart for
God. Consecrate it to God; worship God; fulfill the law of God in it; unite it with God; and all
the rest will follow and will be governed by the heart. It is not he who holds the spoke of the
wheel that steers the wheel, but he who holds its axis. The heart is the axis of our being.
Speaking about the commandments of God, the Venerable Hesychius says, "If you compel
yourself to fulfill them in your thought, then you will rarely have the need to strain yourself to
fulfill them in deed." That is, if you set your hearts on God, as on an axis, then the wheels will
easily and comfortably follow the axis. In other words all of man will follow after his own heart.
"Your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:9), says the all-wise David.
 CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus how He walks under the cross to Golgotha:

1. How He quietly and patiently carries His cross;

2. How they took the cross from Him and gave it to Simon of Cyrene; how he carried the
cross walking after Christ;

3. How He glanced at the women of Jerusalem, who were weeping, and said to them:
"Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me: weep instead for yourselves and for your
children" (St. Luke 23:28), declaring by this His victory and defeat over His murderers.

HOMILY

About the reproach of Christ as wealth

"By faith Moses considered the reproach than the treasures of Egypt, for he was of the
Anointed One greater wealth looking to the recompense" (Hebrews 11: 24-26).

Moses did not want to remain in the palace of the pharaoh nor to be called the adopted son of
pharaoh. Desiring more, "He chose to be ill-treated along with the people of God rather than
enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin" (Hebrews 11:25). How different was Moses from his
descendants [The Jews], who out of pharonic reasons, condemned the King of Glory to
death! All of them would have liked to live one more year in the decaying court of the pharaoh
rather than to travel with God for forty years in the wilderness. Moses left all honors, all riches
and all vanities, which only the wealth of Egypt could provide. At the command of God, Moses
started out through the hungry and thirsty wilderness with faith that beyond there lay the
Promised Land. All of this also means to hold the "reproach of the Anointed One [Christ]"
above all the wealth of Egypt.

The "reproach of the Anointed One [Christ]" is that which the men of this world with a powerful
stench of the earth, are ashamed in Christ. That is Christ's poverty on earth, His fasting, His
vigil, His prayer, His wandering without a roof over His head, His condemnation, His
humiliation, and His shameful death. This "reproach of the Anointed One [Christ]" was valued
by the apostles, and after them, by countless saints, who thought this to be of greater wealth
than all the riches in the entire world. Following these indignities, the Lord resurrected and
opened the gates of heaven and revealed the Promised Land of Paradise, into which He led
mankind along the path of His reproach or the wilderness of His suffering.

O Lord, glorified and resurrected, help us that we may hold unwaveringly every drop
of Your sweat and Your blood as a treasure greater than all worldly riches.
 March 17

1. SAINT ALEXIS, THE MAN OF GOD

Varied are the paths upon which God leads those who desire to please Him and to fulfill His
Law. There lived in Rome at the time of Emperor Honorius a high-ranking dignitary,
Euphemian, who was highly respected and extremely wealthy. He and his wife, Algae, led a
God-pleasing life. Even though he was wealthy, Euphemian sat at the table once a day, only
after the setting of the sun. He had an only son, Alexis, who, when he had reached the age of
maturity, was compelled to marry. But on that same night, he left not only his wife but the
home of his father as well. Alexis boarded a boat and arrived at the city of Edessa in
Mesopotamia, where there was a renown image of our Lord, sent there by our Lord Himself to
Emperor Abgar. Having venerated this image, Alexis clothed himself in the dress of a beggar
and, as such, lived in the city for seventeen years, continually praying to God in the vestibule
of the Church of the Holy Mother of God. When it became public that he was a man of God,
he became frightened of the praise of men, departed Edessa and boarded a boat and
traveled to Laodicea. According to God's Providence, the boat was carried away and sailed
all the way to Rome. Considering this to be the finger of God, Alexis decided to go to the
house of his father and there, as an unknown, continued his life of self-denial. His father did
not recognize him but out of charity allowed him to live in his courtyard in a hut. Alexis
remained here for seventeen years living only on bread and water. Mistreated by the servants
in various ways, he endured all to the end. When his end approached, he wrote a letter,
clenched it in his hand, laid down and died on March 17, 411 A.D. At the same time there was
a revelation in the Church of the Twelve Apostles, and in the presence of the emperor and the
patriarch, a voice was heard which said, "Seek out the Man of God." Shortly after that, it was
revealed that this Man of God resided at the house of Euphemian. The emperor along with
the pope and an entire retinue arrived at the home of Euphemian and after a lengthy
discussion learned that the beggar was that "Man of God." When they entered his hut, they
found Alexis dead but his face shown as the sun. From that letter his parents learned that it
was their son Alexis. Also, his bride, who for 34 years lived without him, learned that he was
her husband. All were overcome with immense grief and pain. Later, they were comforted
after seeing how God glorified His chosen one. By touching his body, many of the sick were
healed, and from his body flowed a sweet-smelling oil [Chrism]. His body was buried in a
sarcophagus of marble and jasper. His head reposes in the Church of St. Laurus in the
Peloponnese.

2. THE HOLY MARTYR MARINUS

Marinus was a soldier. Not only did he not want to offer sacrifices to the idols, but if others
made sacrifices, he scattered and trampled them under his feet. As a result of this, Marinus
was tortured and beheaded in the third century. A certain Senator, Astyrius, clothed in a
priceless white garment witnessed the suffering of St. Marinus. Astyrius was so overcome
with enthusiasm for the Faith of Christ, Who gives to His followers so much courage, that he
placed the martyred body on his shoulders, removed it and buried it with honors. Upon seeing
this, the pagans murdered him also as a Christian.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT ALEXIS, THE MAN OF GOD

Alexis abandoned all that the world deems glorious,

And to God, he embarked on the narrow, but true path.

First, decided he, to become impoverished for the sake of Christ,

After that, he hurriedly left the opulence of his parents.

 And when he departed to a distant land and when he returned

Neither in splendor nor in poverty did he stumble into sin.

The mind raised to God, -- as a lighted candle he held,

With a strong faith and prayer that moves mountains.

Sorrowful mother, inconsolable, mother Algae,

Euphemian, aged father, sorrows and sobs,

And the bride, at one time young, faded because of grief.

One day, the servants at the beggar screamed,

And who this withered beggar is, no one even suspects.

The heir of that household, that is he! But about that, he remains silent.

Inheritance he disowned while in early bloom

In order to be a co-heir in the heavenly world.

But the saint was unable to hide, the Lord makes known the saint,

Who by his life glorifies God, God glorifies him.

Alexis glorifies God, that is why glorious he became,

In truth, he was and remained the Man of God.

REFLECTION

Why are we here on earth? To show our love for God. To learn to love God more than sin.
That by our inconsequential love, we may respond to the greater love of God. Only God's love
is a great love and our love is always inconsequential. God abundantly showed and shows
His love for man both in Paradise and on earth. This brief earthly life is given to us as a
school and as an examination to question ourselves as to whether we will respond with love
to the great love of God. "Every day and every hour, proof of our love for God is required of
us," says St. Isaac the Syrian. God shows His love for us every day and every hour. Every
day and every moment we stand positioned between God and sin. We have either to give our
love to God and elevate ourselves among the angels or to choose sin and fall into the gloom
of Hades. Alexis, the Man of God, loved God more than he loved his parents, his wife and
riches. He spent seventeen years as a beggar far away from the home of his parents, and
another seventeen years Alexis spent as an unknown and scorned in the house of his
parents. He did this, all for the sake of the love of God. The merciful God responded love for
love for these thirty-four years of suffering. He gave Alexis eternal life and joy among His
angels in the heavens and glory on earth.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus on Golgotha:

1. How the soldiers removed His garments and He remains silent and does not defend
Himself;
2. How they nailed Him to the wood with spikes and He remains silent and does not defend
Himself;

3. How with uproar and tumult, they raised the cross from the ground, placed it upright and
the Lord remains silent.

HOMILY

About the second coming of Christ

"For just as lightning comes from the east and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of
the Son of Man"(St. Matthew 24:27).

The second advent of our Lord Jesus will be a coming in glory. Our Lord repeated this many
times. Here He tells us in more detail as to what this, His coming, will resemble. He says it will
resemble lightning. Through this He reveals the five characteristics of His glorious advent.

First: His second coming will be unexpected, like lightning. That is why He reminded us,
"Therefore, stay awake! For you know neither the day nor the hour"(St. Matthew 25:13).

Second: His second coming will be as bright as lightning. The sun and the stars will be
darkened. The entire universe will lose the glow of its face when He shines. He, who sins, will
have less light and brightness. How much darker will the sinner be under this heavenly flame.
That is why He reminded us to hold the lamps of our souls filled with oil and readiness. O my
brethren, let us not find ourselves in the darkness in that terrible hour!

Third: His advent will be as powerful as lightning. For He, alone, spoke to

others saying that He will come "with great power and glory" (St. Matthew 13:26).

Fourth: His coming will be all encompassing and public to everyone and all, from east to
west. That is, He will not appear as the first time to be seen only by His disciples or only one
people or one nation or one country or one state but He will appear like lightning which all
nations and all peoples on earth will see at once.

Fifth: Just as the lightning precedes rain and hail, so shall His second coming precede the
dreadful judgment which will be for the righteous and faithful like the desired rain; and for the
unrighteous and unfaithful, like hail.

Let us make preparation, my brethren, for the clouds are gathering and the divine lightning
may descend from them at any time.

O Lord, Great and Awesome, give oil to the lamps of our souls so that we will not
find ourselves in eternal darkness when Your eternal light appears.
 March 18

1. SAINT CYRIL, ARCHBISHOP OF JERUSALEM

Cyril was born in Jerusalem during the reign of Constantine the Great and died during the
reign of Theodosius the Great [315-386 A.D.] He was ordained a priest in 346 A.D. and
succeeded to the throne of Blessed Maximus, Patriarch of Jerusalem in 350 A.D. On three
occasions he was dethroned and banished into exile until finally, during the reign of
Theodosius, he was restored and lived peacefully for eight years and then gave up his soul to
the Lord. He underwent two difficult struggles: one, against the Arians, who became powerful
under Constantius, the son of Constantine, and the other during the reign of Julian the
Apostate [this turncoat] and with the Jews. At the time of the dominance of the Arians and on
the Day of Pentecost, a sign of the cross, brighter than the sun, appeared which stretched
over Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives and lasted for several hours from the ninth hour in
the morning. Concerning this phenomenon, seen by all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a report
was written to Emperor Constantius which served much in establishing Orthodoxy against the
heretics. During the time of the Apostate, still another sign occurred. In order to humiliate the
Christians Julian persuaded the Jews to restore the Temple of Solomon. Cyril prayed to God
that this not happen. There was a terrible earthquake which destroyed all that had been newly
built. Then the Jews began restoration anew. Again, there was an earthquake which
destroyed not only the newly constructed portion but overturned and scattered the old stones
beneath the ground which supported the Temple. And so the words of the Lord came true that
"there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down" (St.
Matthew 13:2 - St. Luke 2:6). Among the many writings of this holy father is his Catechetical
Discourses, a first class work preserved to the present which confirms the faith and practice
of Orthodoxy. This saint was a unique arch-pastor and a great ascetic. He was meek and
humble, exhausted from fasting, and pallid. After a life of many labors and noble struggles for
the Orthodox Faith, Cyril peacefully died and took up habitation in the eternal court of the
Lord.

2. ANINUS, THE WONDER-WORKER

Aninus was born in Chalcedon. He was of short stature as was Zacchaeus of old but great in
spirit and faith. He withdrew from the world in his fifteenth year and settled in a hut near the
Euphrates river where he prayed to God and atoned for his sins, at first with his teacher
Mayum and, after his death, alone. Through the power of his prayers, he replenished a dry
well with water, healed the sick of various maladies and tamed wild beasts. A trained lion
accompanied him and was at his service at all times. He discerned the future. When Pionius,
a stylite,was attacked and badly beaten by robbers some distance away from Aninus, Pionius
decided to descend from the pillar and proceed to complain to the judges. St. Aninus
"discerned the soul" of this stylite and his intention. He sent a letter to Pionius, by his lion,
counseling him to abandon his intention, to forgive his assailants and to continue in his
asceticism. His charity was inexpressible. The bishop of Neo-Caesarea presented him with a
donkey in order to ease the burden of carrying water from the river, but he gave the donkey to
a needy man who had complained to him about his poverty. The bishop presented him with
another donkey and he gave that one away. Finally, the bishop gave him a third donkey, not
only to serve as a water-carrier but one that Aninus was to care for and to return. Before his
death Aninus saw Moses, Aaron and Or [Egyptian Ascetic] approaching him, and they called
out to him, "Aninus, the Lord is calling you, arise and come with us." He revealed this to his
disciples and gave up his soul to the Lord, Whom he faithfully served. He was one-hundred
ten years old when his earthly life was ended.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT CYRIL OF JERUSALEM

A large sanctuary light glows before the Altar,

 And a small sanctuary light with a smaller flame,

But one and the other gives off the same light

And before the same God, they shine with a glow.

Both, great saints and lesser saints

With the same flame of Christ set on fire.

Among the great saints, a large sanctuary lamp,

Holy Church numbers Saint Cyril.

The Faith, he explained and confirmed,

Whatever he said in words, he confirmed by his life.

His word was of the Holy Spirit,

And his life, a reflection of the flame of heaven.

Arius he shamed and Julian he crushed,

And to many ailing souls he was a balm.

From word to word, he believed Christ

Therefore his word resounds as gold;

And continues today, the weak and those of little faith,

He encourages and makes joyful the right-believers in Christ.

That is why the Church glorifies and honors Cyril,

Throughout the centuries, the name of Cyril echoes.

REFLECTION

There are many vindictive people who think that time brought greatness to Christ, and how, in
the early centuries of Christianity, the Lord was not thought of as highly as He was thought of
in later times. Nothing is easier than to squelch this untruth. Here is the way St. Cyril of
Jerusalem writes about the Lord Christ, "This is He Who is and He Who was, [He Is]
consubstantial with the Father, [He Is] the Only-Begotten, [He Is] equally enthroned, [He Is]
equal in power, [He Is] Almighty, [He Is] without beginning, [He Is] uncreated, [He Is]
unchangeable, [He Is] indescribable, [He Is] invisible, [He Is] inexpressible, [He Is]
incomprehensible, [He Is] immeasurable, [He Is] unfathomable, [He Is] uncircumscribed. He is
the "brightness of His [Father's] Glory" (Hebrews 1:13). He is the Creator [Author] of the
substance of all things created. He is the Light of Light, shining from the bosom of the Father.
He is God of gods "that such is God, Our God forever and ever" (Psalm 48:15),and God of
God who gives us knowledge of Himself. He is the Fountain of Life "For with you is the
Fountain of our life" (Psalm 36:9), flowing from the Father's Fountain of life. He is the River of
God; "There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God" (Psalm 46:4), "The
river of God is full of water" (Psalm 65:9) Who comes forth from the infinity of God but is not
separated from Him. He is the Treasury of the Father's good gifts and endless blessings. He
is the Living Water that gives life to the world. "But whoever drinks the water I shall give you
will never thirst; the water I shall give you will become in him a spring of water welling up to
eternal life" (St. John 4:14). He is the uncreated light that is begotten but not separated from
the First Sun. He is God the Word [Logos]; "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God" (St. John 1:1), Who with one word [He] brought forth
all things from non-existence into being. "All things came to be through Him, and without Him
nothing came to be" (St. John 1:3). This is He Who created us in the image of God and has
now made Himself man in our image, but at the same time God. Even today, after sixteen
centuries since this Confession of Faith was written, the Orthodox Church adheres to this
same Faith, word for word and letter for letter.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus mocked on the cross:

1. How they write this scorn above his head, "King of the Jews" St. Matthew 27:37 - St. Mark
15-27 - St. Luke 23:38);

2. How those passing by scorned Him, shaking their heads and reviling Him;

3. How even the thief on the cross reviles Him;

4. How even throughout the centuries the persecutors of the Christians scorn Him.

HOMILY

About the King who does not wish to defend Himself with an army

"Do you think that I cannot call uponMy Father and He will not provide Me at this moment with
more than twelve legions of angels" (St. Matthew 26:53).

Thus spoke the Lord to the disciple who drew the sword to defend his Teacher in the Garden
of Gethsemane. It is obvious from these words that the Lord could have defended Himself, if
He wanted to, not only from Judas and his company of guards, but also from Pilate and the
leaders of the Jews. For the might of one angel is greater than the greatest army of men,
much less the might of twelve legions of angels.

The Lord did not want to seek this help from the Father. In His prayer in Gethsemane, He said
to His Father, "Let Your will be done" (St. Matthew 26:42). With that, He immediately knew
the Will of the Father and that it was necessary that He be given over to suffering. He was in
agreement with the Will of His Father and set out on the path of suffering. It was necessary to
allow the background to be portrayed gloomier in order that the resurrection would be
brighter. It was necessary to allow evil to compete as much as it could so that, afterwards, it
would explode and disintegrate into nothing. It was necessary to allow evil to cry aloud so
that, soon after, it would become speechless before the miraculous resurrection. It was
necessary that all the wicked deeds of men against God be manifested so that they would be
able to see and appraise the love and mercy of God toward mankind. The angels of God were
not sent to defend Christ from the Jews; rather, the angels of God were sent, after three days,
to announce the holy resurrection of Christ.

O Lord, All-Powerful and All-Merciful, have mercy on us and save us!

 March 19

1. THE HOLY MARTYRS CHRYSANTHUS AND DARIA AND THE OTHERS WITH THEM

Chrysanthus was the only son of Polemius, a distinguished patrician, who settled in Rome
from Alexandria. As the son of wealthy parents, Chrysanthus studied all the secular subjects,
having the most learned men for instructors. But secular wisdom confused him and left him in
uncertainty as to what is truth. As a result of this, he grieved. But God, who plans all and
everything, alleviated his grief. A written copy of the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles
came into the hands of the young Chrysanthus. Having read them, Chrysanthus was
enlightened with the truth, and he desired a teacher and found one in the person of a certain
priest, Carpophorus, who taught and baptized him. This did not please his father, who
attempted everything in order to dissuade him from believing in Christ. Not succeeding, the
wicked father at first tried to corrupt him by placing him alone with an immoral woman. In this,
Chrysanthus was victorious over himself and persevered in chastity. His father then coerced
him into marring Daria, a pagan girl. Chrysanthus counseled Daria to embrace the Faith in
Christ and to live together as brother and sister, although pretending to be married. When his
father died, Chrysanthus began to confess Christ openly and to live as a Christian, both he
and his entire household. During the reign of Emperor Numerian, he and Daria were cruelly
tortured for their faith. Even the torturer Claudius, witnessing the forbearance of these
honorable martyrs and the miracles which were manifested during their agony, embraced the
Faith of Christ along with his entire household. For this, Claudius was drowned. Both of his
sons were beheaded. His wife, after having recited her prayers, died on the gallows. Daria
was so steadfast in her agony that the pagans cried out, "Daria is a goddess!" Finally, it was
decreed that Chrysanthus and Daria be buried in a deep pit and covered with stones. Later, a
church was erected on this site. There was a cave near this pit where some Christians
assembled for prayer and Communion in memory of the Saints Chrysanthus and Daria.
Hearing of this, the pagans attacked and sealed off this cave. By such a death, the pagans
drove these Christians from this world to a better world where Christ reigns eternally. These
glorious martyrs, Chrysanthus and Daria and the others with them, among whom were
Diodorus the priest and Marianus the deacon, suffered for Christ in Rome in the year 284
A.D.,

2. THE HOLY MARTYR PANCHARIUS

Pancharius was born in Villach, Germany [present day Austria]. He was a high-ranking officer
at the court of Diocletian and Maximian. At first, he denied Christ but, being counseled by his
mother and sister, he returned to the Faith of Christ and died for it in the year 302 A.D.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY MARTYRS CHRYSANTHUS AND DARIA

Saint Chrysanthus counsels Daria,

O virgin, forsake the lie

And do not venerate the idols as gods;

Neither seek, you, truth from the world.

The truth is in the One God,

The One Triune God

Who created the heavenly armies

 Of angels and heavenly powers;

Who created the whole universe,

And of the universe, man, the crown.

The only One, immortal and living,

He, out of the earth, creates wrappings

And the clothing of spiritual wealth.

Our soul is spiritual wealth

Wrapped up in the dust of the body.

The soul should be tenderly nurtured

As a bride to make ready for Christ.

Forsake, O virgin, the bodily,

It leads to suffering and sorrow.

God does not look into the vessel of the flesh

But at the flower which grows in it.

O virgin, clothed in death

Today, tomorrow consumed by death:

Adorn your soul with the flower of virtues,

Sow the flower with faith in the Lord,

Enclose it with hope and love,

Water it with the Life-creating Spirit,

Weed it of the weeds of sins,

Let grow the flower of virtues,

Let grow the flower of piety,

Let grow the flower of charity,

Let grow the flower of repentance,

Let grow the flower of patience,

Let grow the flower of abstinence,

 Let grow the flower of obedience.

As a hymn of Paradise, your soul is,

Let it smell like a garden in May.

And may God to dwell therein,

For which He created it.

Daria listened to Chrysanthus,

Her soul to Christ she wedded,

Her body to torture she submitted

With Chrysanthus, her spiritual brother.

And God transplanted them to Paradise,

With them, adorned the garden of Paradise.

REFLECTION

"That mercy [of God] that resurrects us and against which we sin later on is even greater then
that mercy that He bestowed upon us before He gave us being; when we did not exist. Glory
O Lord to Your immeasurable mercy!" Thus speaks St. Isaac the Syrian. He wants to say that
greater is the mercy that God showed toward us when, through Christ, He saved us from the
corruption of sin and death than when He created us out of nothing. Truly, it is so. Even our
earthly parents show greater mercy to the perverted and fallen son when they embrace him
again, forgive him all, make him civilized, cleanse him, heal him and again make him their heir
then, when they gave him birth.

When the young Pancharius, surrounded by royal honors, denied Christ, his mother wrote
him a letter full of pain and sorrow. "Do not be afraid of men," wrote his mother, "but it is
essential to fear God's judgment. You should have confessed your faith in Christ before
emperors and lords and not to have denied Him. Remember His words: `But whoever denies
me before others, I will deny before My heavenly Father' " (St. Matthew 10:33). Being
ashamed of himself, the son accepts the advice of his mother, confessed his faith in Christ
before the emperor, and died a martyr's death for Christ in order to live with Him eternally.
And so the blessed mother of Pancharius brought about a new birth for her son, a spiritual
birth more important than the first, physical birth.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus on the cross:

1. How He suffered in agony on the cross;

2. How He was given vinegar and gall to drink when He said He was thirsty;

3. How those men beneath the cross, insensitive because of selfishness, did not think about
Him but were vying for his garments.

HOMILY
About the sign of the Son of Man

"And then the sign of the Son of Manwill appear in the heavens"(St. Matthew 24:30).

What kind of sign will the sign of the Son of Man be, which once had been shown briefly?
That is the cross, more brighter than the sun, which manifested itself over Jerusalem before
the coming of an earlier personification of the Antichrist by the name of Julian the Apostate.
And in lieu of every homily concerning this miraculous sign, it is worthwhile to quote here the
letter of St. Cyril of Jerusalem written to Emperor Constatius, the son of Constantine the
Great and predecessor of Julian the Apostate. A portion of his letter reads, "For in these very
days of the holy feast of Pentecost on the Nones of May, about the third hour, a gigantic cross
formed of light appeared in the sky above holy Golgotha stretching out as far as the holy
Mount of Olives. It was not seen by just one or two but was most clearly displayed before the
whole population of the city. Nor did it, as one might have supposed, pass away quickly like
something imagined but was visible to sight above the earth for some hours, while it sparkled
with a light above the sun's rays. Of a surety, it would have been overcome and hidden by
them, had it not exhibited to those who saw it a brilliance more powerful than the sun, so that
the whole population of the city made a sudden concerted rush into the Martyry, [the church]
seized by a fear that mingled with joy at the heavenly vision. They poured in, young and old,
men and women of every age, not only Christiansbut pagans from elsewhere sojourning in
Jerusalem, all of them as with one mouth raised a hymn of praise to the worker of wonders,
Christ Jesus our Lord, the Only-begotten Son of God and indeed attested to through
experience, came to discern that the honorable [pious] Christian teaching is to be found not
only in "persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power" (I
Corinthians 2:4), and not only preached by man but, witnessed by God from Heaven.
"Announced originally through the Lord, it was confirmed for us by those who had heard. God
added His testimony by signs, wonders, and various acts of power" (Hebrews 2:3-4). We
consider it our obligation not to remain silent about this Heavenly vision, but through this
letter, hasten to inform Your God-glorified and Pious One." O my brethren, everything is
possible with God: both, to reveal the created to man and to create the uncreated. But most
importantly for us is that He wants to redeem our souls from sin and death and to give us life
eternal. Let us pray to Him for this day and night.

O Lord Almighty, To You be glory and thanks always. Amen.

 March 20

1. THE VENERABLE MARTYRS, JOHN AND OTHERS FROM THE MONASTIC

BROTHERHOOD OF SAINT SABAS THE SANCTIFIED NEAR JERUSALEM

This glorious monastery, which still exists today, was visited by our own Serbian St. Sava and
endowed by several Serbian rulers. Many times it was attacked by brutal Arabs, pillaged and
laid waste. But, by the Divine Providence of God, it was always restored and is preserved
until today. During the reign of Constantine and Irene, it was attacked and pillaged by the
Arabs. The monks did not want to flee but, counseling with their abbot Thomas, they said,
"We have fled from the world into this wilderness for the sake of our love for Christ and it
would be shameful if we fled from the wilderness out of fear of men. If we are slain here, we
will be slain because of our love for Christ for Whose cause we came to live here." Having
decided, they awaited the armed Arabs, unarmed as lambs before wolves. Some of the
monks the Arabs killed with arrows and some they sealed off in the cave of St. Sabas. They
lighted a fire at the entrance of the cave and all were suffocated by the smoke. Thus many of
them died as martyrs for the sake of Christ and were translated into the Kingdom of Him
Whom they loved and for Whose love they perished. They suffered honorably prior to the
Feast of the Resurrection in 796 A.D., during the reign of Constantine and Irene and Elijah,
the Patriarch of Jerusalem. A just punishment quickly befell these savage attackers.
Returning to their tents, they began to quarrel among themselves and in mutual combat all
were slain. This occurred in the year 796 A.D.

2. THE HOLY MARTYR PHOTINA

This was the Samaritan woman who had the rare fortune to converse with the Lord Christ
Himself at the Well of Jacob, near Sychar (St. John 4:4-31). Believing in the Lord, Photina
afterwards went to preach His Gospel with Victor and Josiah her two sons, and with her five
sisters, Anatolia, Phota, Photida, Parasceve and Cyriaca. They had gone to Carthage in
Africa. There they were arrested and taken to Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero and
were thrown into prison. By God's Divine Providence, Domnina, the daughter of Nero, came
into contact with St. Photina and was converted to the Faith of Christ by her. After
imprisonment they all suffered for the sake of Christ. Photina, who for the first time was
enlightened with the light of truth at the well of Sychar, was now thrown into a well where she
died and entered into the eternal kingdom of Christ.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT PHOTINA, THE SAMARITAN WOMAN

The Samaritan Woman met Christ at the well,

And was enlightened with the light of Christ, Himself.

Under Nero, her life she ended in another well,

And her spirit she gave to Christ God, her Lord.

Her glorious sons were Victor and Josiah,

Both, the saintly mother enlightened with holiness.

Five sisters suffered for the Name of Christ,

With her were translated to heaven, their reward to receive.

 O, penitent Photina, wonderful sufferer,

How your countenance with eternal light now glows.

At one time, not even water did you give to the Savior,

Finally, even your blood for Him, you shed.

Your soul at one time darkened, while yet a Samaritan you were,

When you became a Christian, above the sun's rays, you shown.

In Sychar, you proclaimed Christ with fear,

In the center of Rome, by your death you witnessed to Him.

Love, every fear, destroys and makes one a hero,

O, Photina, love, forever, glorified you.

Two or three Romes, can Nero burn down

But the soul of Christians cannot burn.

The vessels of clay, Nero can smash

But, over the spirit of Photina, did not have any power.

O, immortal saint, help us now,

By your prayers, before the Throne of Christ the Savior.

REFLECTION

God does not punish sinners because it gives Him gratification to destroy men. If that gave
Him gratification, He would not have created man out of nothing. He punishes man out of
more important constructive reasons, of which two are most apparent to us: First, that by
punishment He corrects them and leads him on the true path of salvation; second, to frighten
others from sinning. St. Isaac also thinks this when he says, "The just wise man is similar to
God, for he punishes man, not to reproach him for his sin but either to correct man or to instill
fear in others." One recalcitrant young man, who ridiculed God and his parents, suddenly
went insane. The entire city in which this young man lived saw, in this, the punishment of God
and were terrified with the fear of God. The young man was held bound and isolated for three
years. His mother wept bitterly and prayed to God for her son. One year, during the Feast of
Pentecost, the mother brought her insane son to the monastery of St. Basil in Ostrog. After
prayers, the insane youth was cured and became himself again. After that, he became an
exemplary person and a true Christian.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus crucified on the cross:

1. How blood flows from His hands and drips to the ground;

2. How blood flows from His feet and drips to the ground;
3. How blood flows from beneath His ribs and drips to the ground.

HOMILY

About the battle of the Lamb with the beasts

"They will fight with the Lamb,but the Lamb will conquer them,for He is the Lord of Lords
andKing of Kings" (Revelation 17:14).

Who speaks these marvelous words? John, who saw God. Who is this Lamb? Christ the
Lord. Who is this Lord of Lords and King of Kings? Christ the Lord. With whom will He wage
war and whom will He defeat? He will defeat the beast which has seven heads and all those
whom receive authority, honor and riches from the unclean beast. The Lamb among the
beasts! St. John also saw the Lamb as the Victor over all the beasts. Christ among the
demons! One would say, "They will devour Him!" Nevertheless, the terrified demons cry out to
Him for mercy and flee from Him without turning back. Christ among His tormentors! One
would say, "They will destroy Him forever." Nevertheless, He resurrects and conquers and
they flee from Him in terror and perish. The Church among the heathens! One would say,
"They will flood her [The Church] like the waves over a small island." Nevertheless, the pagan
kingdoms sank and fell apart and the Church still exists, flourishes and advances. The Faith
of Christ among the pungent philosophers and theoreticians! One would say, "They will out-
smart it [The Faith] and banish it [The Faith] from the world." Nevertheless, they steer one
another into lies and persecutions but the Faith of Christ saves men. Reverence among the
blasphemers of God and apostates from God! One would say, "We will soil it!" Nevertheless,
they are smothered in their own filth and reverence preserves itself in unsoiled purity.
Christian meekness and tearfulness in the of midst of tyrants and abductors! One would say,
"It will die of hunger!" Nevertheless, it lives and walks satiated, while the tyrants and
abductors suffer from starvation. The Lamb among the beasts! Nevertheless, the Lamb is the
Victor.

O Lord, Meek and Good, Lamb of God, all caressing, imbue us with Your meekness
and goodness, so that even we may share in Your victory.
 March 21

1. SAINT JAMES, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR

Neither the place of his birth nor the place where James served as bishop are known. Only
this is known: he fulfilled the law of Christ and spent much time in mortifying himself through
strict fasting and prayer. During the time of Copronymos, James endured great hardships and
suffering at the hands of the Iconoclasts, such as hunger, imprisonment and ridicule of all
sorts. Finally, he gave up his soul to God, Whom he had faithfully served in this life. He lived
and suffered in the eighth century.

2. VENERABLE CYRIL, THE BISHOP OF CATANIA IN SICILY

Born in Antioch, Cyril was a disciple of St. Peter. He governed the flock of Christ well. With
the aid of prayer, he had the gift of working many miracles. He did so with bitter water which
was unfit to drink. In that place in the summer, there was no other water, but through prayer
he changed this bitter water into sweet drinkable water. He died peacefully.

3. SAINT THOMAS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Thomas lived during the reign of the Emperors Maurice and Phocas and at the time of the
Patriarchs St. John the Faster and Cyriac. Because of his great piety and zeal, Thomas
attracted the attention of St. John and was advanced to the order of patriarchal deputy by that
saint. Following the death of Cyriac, Thomas was elected patriarch. At this time, an
extraordinary event occurred. On one occasion when there was a procession with crosses,
the crosses began to sway on their own and began to strike one another. All the people were
amazed at this. When the patriarch learned about this being an actual occurrence, he
summoned Theodore Sykeon, the renown hermit who possessed the "gift of discernment."
The patriarch implored Theodore to explain to him what this incident foretells. Theodore
prayed to God and revealed to the patriarch that this occurrence portents great misfortunes,
both for the Church and for the Greek Empire, which will surface as a result of internal
religious and internal political dissensions. Christians will fight and annihilate each other. All of
this was shortly fulfilled. Thomas implored Theodore to pray for him that God would take him
before these tragedies begin. "Do you command that I come to you or that we see each other
over there before God." This is how Theodore replied to the patriarch, indicating that the
patriarch would die soon. That very same day the patriarch became ill and died. Shortly after
him, St. Theodore also died. St. Thomas died and took up habitation with the Lord in 610 A.D.

4. THE VENERABLE SERAPION

Serapion was a companion of St. Anthony the Great. He was the abbot of the Monastery of
Arsina in the Nitrian wilderness where there were over eleven thousand monks. Paladius and
Sozomenus called him "Great." He died about the year 366 A.D. St. Serapion wrote, "Do not
think that sickness is difficult; only sin is difficult. Sickness accompanies us only to the grave
but sin follows the sinner even after the grave."

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT SERAPION

Serapion, to save a sinner, he wanted,

The appearance of a sinner upon himself, he then took,

And to the sinner he entered, as if sin to commit,

 But before sinning, to her, in this manner, he spoke:

You wait for a while, the entire night we have

Until, my prayer, I complete, then to misdeed we will proceed!

Serapion began the prayers to read

Uplifting his mind toward God, that it not wander anywhere.

And prayer after prayer began to reel off,

Sigh after sigh, to the Most High he uplifts.

The entire Psalter and other prayers he read,

And lengthy prayers for the sinner he began;

With sobbing and sighing, his prayers he interrupts,

Until even the sinful woman began to moan,

To moan and sob as never before in her life,

Realized that the saint, because of sin did not come,

Rather to save her from her perversion

And to raise her to God and from mud to cleanse her.

Then, exclaimed the woman: What should I do?

Behold, ashamed and repulsed with myself, am I!

Serapion, then instructions, gave he to her,

And to the wise sisters, committed her to their care.

Then the path before him, to the wilderness he took

Joyful, because a sinful soul he saved.

REFLECTION

You will hear this kind of justification from many who pursue riches: "When I become rich, I
will be able to perform good works!" Do not believe them, for they deceive both you and
themselves. St. John Climacus knew in depth the most secret motives of men's souls when
he said, "The beginning of love of money is the pretext of alms giving and the end of it is
hatred of the poor" (Step 16). This is confirmed by all lovers of money, the rich or the less
rich. The average man says, "If only it were that I had money, I would carry out this and that
good work!" Do not believe him. Let him not believe himself. Let him look at himself, as in a
mirror, at those who have money and who are not willing to do this or that good work. That is
how he would be if he acquired some money. Again, the wise John says, "Do not say that you
are collecting money for the poor; so that through and by this you give help to them, in order
to gain the kingdom; remember, for two mites the kingdom was purchased" (Step 16) - (St.
Luke 21:2). Truly, the Gospel widow purchased it for two mites, and the rich man, before
whose gates Lazarus lay, could not purchase it for all of his countless riches. If you have
nothing to give to the poor, pray to God that He will give to them and, by this, you have
performed almsgiving and purchased the Heavenly Kingdom. When St. Basil the New
prophesied to the empress, the wife of Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, that she will
first give birth to a daughter and then a son, the empress offered him much gold. The saint
refused it. The empress implored the name of the Holy Trinity that he should take the gold.
Then, St. Basil took only three pieces of gold and gave it to the needy Theodora, who served
him saying, "We do not need too much of these thorns, for they prick much."

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus crucified on the cross:

1. His head is sorely wounded by the thorny wreath;

2. His eyes are closed from pain;

3. His mouth is dry from thirst.

HOMILY

About the First and Last who lives

"Do not be afraid. I am thefirst and the last, the onewho lives. Once I was dead,but now I am
alive foreverand ever" (Revelation 1:17-18).

Thus says the Lord Jesus to His beloved disciple John in a vision on the island of Patmos. Do
not be afraid of what! Do not be afraid of the persecution of the Church by the pagans. Do not
be afraid of the tormentors who persecute my faithful on all sides. Do not be afraid of
emperors who raise up persecutions against the Christians. Do not be afraid of powerful
tyrants of this world who mock and ridicule My humility in My death. Do not be afraid of
demons who blind men with passions so that they can't see the truth which I brought to the
world. Do not be afraid of anything!

How could I not be afraid, O Lord!, Why then should we not be afraid when the entire world is
armed to the tooth and assembled against us who are small in number and unarmed?

Do not be afraid for I am the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega. All of those forces
armed against you are nothing but a whirlwind of the dead. I am before time and I am after
time; before the beginning of all and after the end of all things that were created, I Am! They
are all locked in one span of time that I measured out to every created thing and outside of
this span of time, they cannot extend. "Do not be afraid, once I was dead but now, I am alive."
Do not be afraid, not even of death. I am before death and after death. Death is my servant
and I permit my servant to serve me in the world. I gave myself up to my servant for three
days and ordered him to release me and "now, I am alive." I am the Master of death as well
as of life. I am the Master of time as well as of eternity. Do not be afraid! "I am alive forever
and ever." And you will be alive with Me. All they who remain faithful to Me and are not afraid
will live with Me. "Do not be afraid, I am the Alpha and the Omega" (Revelation 1:11).

O Lord, Eternal and Immortal, allow these holy words of Yours to ring in the souls of
Your faithful always whenever a persecution is raised up against Your Holy Church
that, holding on to Your right hand, we may not be afraid.
 March 22

1. THE PRIEST-MARTYR BASIL, PRESBYTER OF ANCYRA

Under Emperor Constantius, Basil endured and suffered much at the hands of the Arians. At
that time he was renown as a great zealot of Orthodoxy and a true shepherd of his entrusted
flock in Ancyra. When Julian the Apostate ascended the throne, he began to persecute
Christians. Because Basil openly unmasked this latest impurity and strengthened his people
in the Faith, he was cast into prison. When Emperor Julian came to Ancyra, Basil was brought
before him and the emperor tried to persuade him to abandon his faith in Christ, promising
him honors and riches. Basil answered the emperor; "I believe in my Christ, Whom you
denied and Who gave you this earthly kingdom; but, that will be taken away from you, shortly.
Have you no shame of the sacred altar under which you were saved when they sought to kill
you as an eight year old child? That is why this temporary kingdom will be taken from you
shortly and your body will not be buried when your soul is violently wrested from you in bitter
pains." Julian became enraged and ordered that seven strips of skin be pealed from his body
everyday. The tormentors did this for several days. When Basil appeared again before the
emperor, he took a belt of his own skin and threw it into the face of Julian and crying out to
him said, "Take it, Julian, and eat if this kind of food is sweet to you but, for me, Christ is Life."
This incident was proclaimed throughout the towns, and the emperor, out of shame, secretly
departed from Ancyra to Antioch. They continued to torture Basil with red hot irons until he
gave up his soul to God, for Whom he suffered in the year 363 A.D.

2. SAINT DROSIDA

Drosida was the daughter of Emperor Trajan. She was captured with five other women at
night while they were gathering the bodies of the tortured martyrs for Christ. For this she was
severely disfigured by the emperor. Those five women were horribly tortured and, in the end,
were thrown into a vat of molten copper, where they gave up their souls to their Lord. Drosida
remained under the strict guard of the emperor. She escaped from the palace and baptized
herself in a river. After eight days she gave up her soul to God.

3. THE VENERABLE MARTYR, EUTHYMIUS

Euthymius was born in the village of Dimitsana in the Peloponnese. As a child, Euthymius
lived as a Christian but, later on, he went to Romania where he gave himself over to a life of
great debauchery. In this debauchery an evil spirit lead him to become a Muslim. As soon as
he did that, Euthymius began to repent bitterly. He again returned to the Faith of Christ and
was tonsured a monk in Athos, the Holy Mountain. After several years spent in strict fasting
and prayer, he decided to die for Christ. With the blessing of his spiritual father, he traveled to
Constantinople where he succeeded somehow to come before the Grand Vezir. Euthymius
began to cross himself, to praise Christ and to insult Mohammed in the presence of the Vezir.
After prolonged torture he was sentenced to death and beheaded on Palm Sunday, March 22,
1814 A.D. Many miraculous healings of the sick occurred over his relics. His honorable head
is preserved in the Russian Monastery of St. Panteteimom [Pantaleon] in the Holy Mountain.
And so, this twenty-year old youth, at first, died to Christ and after that died for Christ.

HYMN OF PRAISE

CHRIST THE LORD AS A FISHERMAN

A wonderful Fisherman, O Christ the Lord, You are,

Throughout the entire world, the nets You spread,

For pure pearls You trawl from the waters deep,

 Invisible net, by the Spirit woven,

Woven with love, moistened with tears,

By angelic hands, everywhere upheld.

Everyone to whom a mother gave birth and by the Spirit reared,

Most beautiful souls all, that the world can give.

All that into the numbers of Your rich catch entered,

All that Your silk net caught.

When nets from the sea of life, You raise

Nothing will remain except the muddy scum.

O, Fisherman, Most Wonderful, of pure pearls,

And we sinners, Your pearls, at one time were,

Now, from Your Throne, we are far away,

Under the sediment of dark passions, covered are we,

But, may Your net also us, to seize,

From Your countenance, we will shine as the stars.

REFLECTION

Even in His pain on the cross, the Lord Jesus did not condemn sinners but offered pardon to
His Father for their sins saying, "They know not what they do!"(St. Luke 23:34). Let us not
judge anyone so that we will not be judged. For no one is certain that before his death he will
not commit the same sin by which he condemns his brother. Saint Anastasius of Sinai
teaches, "Even if you see someone sinning, do not judge him for you do not know what the
end of his life will be like. The thief, crucified with Christ, entered Paradise and the Apostle
Judas went to Hell. Even if you see someone sinning, bear in mind that you do not know his
good works. For many have sinned openly and repented in secret; we see their sins, but we
do not know their repentance. That is why, brethren, let us not judge anyone so that we will
not be judged."

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus crucified on the cross:

1. How infinite is His sorrow for mankind blinded by sin;

2. How His thoughts on the cross are directed more to His Heavenly Father than to Himself;

3. How His concern on the cross is directed more at mankind than to Himself;

4. How on the cross He is certain of His Victory and Resurrection.

 HOMILY

About the majesty of Christ the Victor

"The hair of His head wasas white wool or as snow andHis eyes were like a fiery flame"
(Revelation 1:14).

That is how John the Theologian (the one who gazed upon God) saw Jesus after His
resurrection and victory. He saw Him as the Son of Man, clothed in a lengthy garment, girded
about with a golden sash, with seven stars in His right hand, and His face "shone like the sun
at its brightest" (Revelation 1:16). It was with this kind of power and glory that He appeared,
Who on the cross was not radiant and Who seemed to be as the weakest of the sons of men
to all the passersby. Why were His hairs like white wool and white as snow? Was not our Lord
barely thirty-four years old when they killed Him? From where, then, His white hair? Does not
white hair indicate old age? It is true that white hair does indicate old age with mortal man, but
with Christ in Glory it indicated more than old age; it indicated eternity. Eternal youthful age!
Old age is the past and youth is the future. At the same time, is He not the one and the other?
More than all the times past and all future times and even beyond time, Christ is eternity
beyond time. Why were His eyes like a flame of fire? Because He is the All-seeing. All sorts of
things can be hidden from the sun, but of all that is in the heavens, on the earth or under the
earth, nothing can be hidden from His sight. He perceives all the threads of the fabric of
nature; He perceives all the atoms in the stones, every drop of water in the sea, every particle
of air and all thoughts and all desires of every created soul. This is the One and the same and
no other; He who out of compassion for the human race came to earth, clothed Himself in a
mortal and suffering body, was ridiculed, was mocked and was spat upon by sinful men. That
is the same One, and no other, Who, without radiance, hung on the cross between thieves
and, as a dead man, was buried by Joseph and Nicodemus.

O brethren, how awesome it is to think what a great and majestic Visitor the earth had! It is
even more awesome to think against Whom the deranged men raised their hands!

O Majestic Lord, forgive us our sins and remember us all in Your Power and Glory.
 March 23

1. THE HOLY PRIESTLY-MARTYR NICON

Nicon was born in Naples of a pagan father and Christian mother. Nicon was a Roman officer
in Naples and was not baptized, even though his mother tutored him secretly from his father
in the Faith of Christ. Once, when Nicon was sent into battle with his troops, his mother
counseled him to make the sign of the cross and to call upon Christ for help if any misfortune
would befall him. And, indeed, while in battle, Nicon's troops were completely surrounded;
and, toward the end of the battle, Nicon made the sign of the cross in his heart and cried out
to Christ. Immediately, he was filled with unusual strength and pursued his enemies. Some he
slew and others he forced to flee. Returning to his home, Nicon continuously cried out in
amazement, "Great is the Christian God." Since he had made his mother happy with the news
of his victory with the help of the Cross of Christ, he secretly sailed to Asia where Theodosius
the Bishop of Cyzicus baptized him. Following his baptism, he secluded himself in a
monastery where he devoted himself to study and asceticism. Before his death Theodosius
had a vision in which he was told to ordain Nicon as his successor. Immediately the aged
Theodosius summoned Nicon and ordained him a deacon; after that, a priest, and then, a
bishop. Shortly thereafter, according to God's Providence, Nicon came to Naples where he
discovered that his mother was still living. Following his mother's death, Nicon, with nine
disciples, his former war companions, withdrew to Sicily and there dedicated himself to
preaching the Gospel. However, at that time there was a terrible persecution of Christians.
Prince Quintianus captured Nicon with his companions and inflicted great pain and suffering
upon them. His one-hundred ninety disciples and companions were beheaded. The tormentor
tied Nicon to the tail of a horse, hurled him from a steep wall into a gorge, beat him, and
skinned him; but Nicon survived all of these tortures. Finally, he was beheaded and took up
habitation with the Lord. His body was left in the fields to be devoured by the birds. A certain
herdsman, with a rabid evil spirit, tripped and fell over the dead body of Christ's martyr and
immediately the herdsman was healed. Proclaiming the news about Nicon's body, Christians
came forth and honorably buried the body of Nicon. St. Nicon suffered during the reign of the
Emperor Decius.

2. THE VENERABLE NICON OF THE MONASTERY OF THE CAVES IN KIEV

Nicon was a companion of St. Anthony of the Caves and a spiritual father to the Venerable
Theodosius. Because of the monastic tonsuring of the Boyar Barlaam and of the eunuch
Ephrem, Nicon was threatened by Prince Izjaslav; but his wife, the princess, turned the anger
of the prince into the fear of God. Then Nicon, the holy one, was left in peace. Wanting to
adorn the church with icons, Nicon implored God for assistance. As a result of his prayers,
certain Greek iconographers unexpectedly came to Kiev from Constantinople. St. Anthony
and St. Theodosius appeared to these iconographers in a vision and directed them to Nicon
in Kiev.(*) Nicon was praised because of his courageous asceticism and spiritual wisdom.
Against his will, Nicon, in his old age, became the abbot of Pecer. He presented himself to the
Lord in the year 1066 A.D. His incorruptible relics are persevered in the Monastery of the
Caves in Kiev.

(*) In the Greek Synaxarion and the Athonite Patericon, the Neo-martyr Luke, who was born
in Jedren is commemorated on this day. As a child he was captured in Constantinople by the
Turks and was circumcised. Because of this, he had bitter pangs of conscience. He
considered circumcision the devil's mark on him which could only be destroyed through
martyrdom for Christ. Tonsured a monk on Mt. Athos, he went with his Elder Bessarion to
Mytilene and there was hanged by the Turks on March 23, 1802. Hanging in the air, the body
of the martyr emitted a fragrant oil [Chrism].

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT NICON
 In the dungeon, Nicon languished,

And day and night he prayed to God.

For his defense, did not pray to God,

Nor to revenge Quintianus, the wicked,

But for strength, to endure sufferings.

Nicon's sighings, God heard.

One time Nicon dreamed in prayer:

To him, the Virgin appeared in light,

Than the sun, more beautiful and brighter.

Than a lamb, whiter and gentler,

At her side, two archangels are,

Their faces, radiant and joyful,

With their height, to the heavens they reach,

The river they point out, one to the other:

That is the wavy river Psimif!

Then, one archangel to the Virgin says,

To Quintianus, were we sent to slay

In the waves of the raging Psimif.

But, behold, we are looking over the river

And nowhere Quintianus do we see?

As honey flowing from her mouth, the Virgin spoke:

To the river, soon, he will come,

Through the waves, he will attempt to cross,

But, beneath him, his horse will become enraged,

His face, by his teeth, will he disfigure,

Him, the river will drown,

And thus, your task, you will complete.

 That is the end of the evil torturer of Nicon, my saint.

All of this took place as the Virgin said,

Everything that Nicon dreamed became a reality.

REFLECTION

St. Paphnutius prayed to God to reveal to him, who it is that he [Paphnutius] resembled. He
heard a voice which spoke to him, "You are similar to a merchant who seeks good pearls;
arise and do not be idle!" But why would not God say to everyone of us that we are similar to
a merchant who seeks good pearls? Because many of us do not seek pearls, rather we gorge
ourselves with heavy layers of cheap dust. Not everything which the net raises up from the
bottom of the sea is a pearl; sometimes, it is only mud and sand. The ignorant vie for that
mud and sand as though it were a pearl. Only the merchant who recognizes a true pearl casts
the net into the sea untold number of times. He hauls it up, sifts it of mud and sand, until he
finds one seed of pearl! Why does God compare Paphnutius to a merchant? Because
Paphnutius gave away all of his possessions, invested all of his effort and all of his time, in
order to find that one seed of the true pearl. That true pearl is the heart cleansed of all
passions and of evil thoughts and warmed by the flame of love toward God. Arise also, you
man, and do not be lazy! Your marketing day is approaching its twilight.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus crucified on the cross:

1. How His compassionate love for mankind did not diminish because of His sufferings;

2. How, with love, He offers comfort to His mother, commending John to her, as a son, in
place of Himself;

3. How, with love, He prays to the Father for mankind: " Father, forgive them, they know not
what they do" (St. Luke 23:24).

HOMILY

About the weakness of man before the majesty of God

"When I caught sight of Him,I fell down at His feet asthough dead" (Revelation 1:17).

It was St. John who fell as though dead when he saw the Lord Jesus in glory. St. John, the
Beloved Disciple of Jesus, The Evangelist, The Chaste One, The one who loved the Lord,
and a zealot for holiness - could not stand on his feet nor compose himself when he saw his
Teacher in His heavenly glory and power! But, "fell, as though dead." How will they, therefore,
endure the presence of the Lord and His eyes "a fiery flame," they who sin against Him, they
who rise up against Him, they who ridicule His Name, they who despise His love and
sacrifice, they who mock His cross, they who trample upon His commandments, they who
persecute His Church, they who shame His priests, and they who kill His faithful? What will
happen to them before the face of the Lord when St. John fell as dead when he caught sight
of Him? What will happen to the literate who corrupt? What will happen to teachers who
destroy the Faith in young souls? What will happen to skeptics who through their doubt
poison the minds of men? What will happen to thieves and robbers and what will happen to
the immoral and what will happen to the child-killers? What will happen to the enemies of
Christ when the friend of Jesus falls, as though dead, before His indescribable, glistening
glory? Such is the glory, power, authority, beauty, lordship, light and majesty of the Lord
Jesus, resurrected and ascended, that His closest companions who for three years on earth
gazed upon His face without fear, now fall as though dead when they see His face in the
heavens following His passion, death and victory!

O Lord All-glorious and Almighty illuminate us and enliven us by Your power and
glory.
 March 24

1. SAINT ARTEMON BISHOP OF SELEUCIA

Artemon was born and educated in Seleucia. When the Apostle Paul came to that city, he met
Artemon, strengthened him even more in the Faith of Christ and appointed him bishop of that
city. Artemon governed his entrusted flock with love and zeal. He was a physician of the souls
as well as the bodies of men. He entered into eternity in ripe old age.

2. VENERABLE JAMES, THE CONFESSOR

James suffered while defending icons under Leo the Armenian. He was a monk and a
member of the brotherhood of the Studite Monastery. When the Studite Theodore the Great
was in exile, James was subjected to severe tortures in order to persuade him to renounce
the veneration of icons. To the end he remained steadfast and faithful to Orthodoxy. Beaten
and tortured, he was finally sent back to the monastery after the wicked Emperor Leo came to
a wretched end. As a result of severe blows, he died in the monastery and took up habitation
among the heavenly citizens.

3. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR PARTHENIUS, PATRIARCH OF CONSTANTINOPLE

Parthenius was born on the Island of Mytilene. He was the bishop of Chios for a long time.
Afterwards he was elected patriarch of Constantinople. Because of false rumors that he
allegedly worked against the State, the Turks initially proposed that he become a Muslim.
When he adamantly refused, they hanged him in the year 1657 A.D.

4. THE COMMEMORATION OF THE MIRACLE IN THE MONASTERY OF THE CAVES IN

KIEV

Two companions, John and Sergius, vowed to adopt each other as blood brothers before an
icon of the Holy Mother of God in this monastery. John was a wealthy man, and he had a five
year old son Zacharias. John became very ill. Before his death, John commended his son to
the care of Sergius and bequeathed a large amount of gold and silver to him for safe keeping
so that Sergius would hand it over to his son Zacharias when he reached maturity. When
Zacharias reached maturity, Sergius denied that he received anything from the deceased
John. Then Zacharias said, "Let him swear before that very icon of the All-Holy Mother of
God, before whom he entered into a blood-brother relationship with my deceased father; and
if he swears that he did not receive anything from my father John, then I will not seek anything
from him." Sergius agreed. When Sergius swore this, he wanted to approach and venerate
the icon, but a force held him back and would not allow it. Sergius then began to cry out in a
crazed manner to the Holy Fathers, Anthony and Theodosius; "Do not allow this unmerciful
angel to destroy me!" That was the demon that attacked him by God's permission. After that,
Sergius showed them all the money that John entrusted to him. When they opened the chest,
they discovered that the amount had doubled. This amount was doubled by God's
Providence. After receiving the money, Zacharias gave it to the monastery and was then
tonsured a monk. Zacharias lived for a long time and was made worthy of the great gifts of
God and was translated peacefully into eternity.

5. THE VENERABLE ZACHARIAS

Zacharias was the son of Carion the Egyptian. Zacharias left his wife and children and
became a monk. He took his father with him because his mother was unable to care for him.
Even though Zacharias was younger than most of the elders in the Scete, he was favored
with greater gifts of Grace than many of the others were. He felt that his whole being was on
fire with the Grace of God. To the question of St. Macarius: "Who is the ideal monk?"
Zacharias replied, "He who continually compels himself to fulfill the commandments of God."
To the question of Abba Moses: "What does it mean to be a monk?" Zacharias removed his
monastic head gear [Kamilavka] and trampled it underfoot and said, "If a man is not shattered
as this, he cannot be a monk." He was a great light among the monks of the wilderness and
while still young died to the Lord.

HYMN OF PRAISE

VANITY

What is the worth of man, O Lord, You said,

That the whole vast world as his property, he acquires,

When, either today or tomorrow, he must die,

And the accumulated wealth outlive him will.

What worth is it that upon his head, a crown he sets,

When behind him, he must leave it?

To him, what good is gold and a pile of silver,

When through his withered ribs, grass grows?

What good is silk, pearls and food,

When, upon him alive, the sun does not gaze?

Of what help is the world, if he loses his soul.

Without the soul, the body is lowered into the grave.

His body and soul, both have died,

And to its grave, each of them hurries.

Two lifeless ones, then men, do bury,

For neither of them, do men bitterly mourn.

Anyone who has a mind, over his soul, let him guard,

You gave to all a reminder clear:

The soul is the only thing that can be saved,

All else in the world, and even the world itself will perish.

When we know Your counsel, O dear Lord,

Still, Your power and help we need.

Help our sinful soul, O Good One,

That the smoke of vanity suffocate it not.

 REFLECTION

Abba Daniel and Abba Ammoe were traveling. Abba Ammoe said, "Father, when will we
arrive at the cell?" (that is, so that they could to pray to God). Abba Daniel replied, "And who
is taking God away from us now?" The same God is in the cell and outside the cell.. By this
we are taught uninterruptedness of prayer, thoughts about God, and contemplation of God's
works in us and around us. The Church facilitates prayer and intensifies it. So it is the same
with solitude and confinement; each in its own way facilitates and intensifies it. He who does
not want to pray will not be bound either by a church or a cell. Neither will he who has felt the
pleasure of prayer be able to separate his nature or journeying from prayer.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus on the cross crucified:

1. Counting the drops of His All-Holy Blood and counting my sins;

2. Counting His painful sighs and counting the stupid days of my laughter.

HOMILY

About faithfulness in suffering and the crown of life

"Do not be afraid of anythingthat you are going to suffer.Remain faithful until death,and I will
give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10).

By His suffering our Lord eased our suffering. He endured the greatest of pain and emerged
as the Victor. That is why He can encourage us in our lesser sufferings. He suffered and
endured in righteousness while we suffer and endure in expiating our own sins. This is why
He can doubly remind us to endure to the end as He, the Sinless One, endured. Not one of us
has helped nor alleviated His pains and endurance, yet He stands along side each one of us
when we suffer and alleviates our pains and misfortunes. That is why He has the right to tell
each one who suffers for His Name's sake: "Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid of anything that
you are going to suffer," says Christ, for I alone have endured all suffering and am familiar
with them. I was not frightened at not a single suffering. I received them upon Myself and, in
the end, overcame them all. I did not overcome them by dismissing them or fleeing from them
but receiving them all upon Myself voluntarily and enduring them all to the end. And so you
also should accept voluntary suffering, for I see and know how much and for how long you
can endure.

If your suffering should continue to death itself and if it is the cause of your death,
nevertheless, do not be afraid; "I will give you the crown of life." I will crown you with immortal
life in which I reign eternally with the Father and the Life-Giving Spirit. God did not send you
to earth to live comfortably, rather to prepare for eternal life. It would be a great tragedy if your
Creator were unable to give you a better, longer, and brighter life than that which is on earth
which reeks of decay and death and is shorter than the life of a raven.

O my brethren, let us listen to the words of the Lord and all of our sufferings will be alleviated.
If the blows of the world seem as hard as stones, they will become as the foam of the sea
when we obey the Lord.

O Victorious Lord, teach us more about Your long-suffering; and when we become
exhausted, extend Your hand and sustain us.
 March 25

1. THE ANNUNCIATION

When the All-Holy Virgin completed the fourteenth year after her birth and was entering her
fifteenth year, after having spent eleven years of living and serving in the Temple of
Jerusalem, the priests informed her that, according to the Law, she could not remain in the
Temple but was required to be betrothed and enter into marriage. What a great surprise to the
priests was the answer of the All-Holy Virgin that she had dedicated her life to God and that
she desired to remain a Virgin until death, not wanting to enter into marriage with anyone!
Then, according to Divine Providence, Zacharias, the high priest and father of the Forerunner,
under the inspiration of God, and in agreement with the other priests, gathered twelve unwed
men from the Tribe of David to betroth the Virgin Mary to one of them to preserve her virginity
and to care for her. She was betrothed to Joseph of Nazareth who was her kinsman. In the
house of Joseph, the All-Holy Virgin continued to live as she did in the Temple of Solomon,
occupying her time in the reading of Sacred Scripture, in prayer, in Godly-thoughts, in fasting
and in handiwork. She rarely went anywhere outside the house nor was she interested in
worldly things and events. She spoke very little to anyone, if at all, and never without special
need. More frequently she communicated with both of Joseph's daughters. When the fullness
of time had come, as prophesied by Daniel the Prophet, and when God was pleased to fulfill
His promise to the banished Adam and to the Prophets, the great Archangel Gabriel
appeared in the chamber of the All-Holy Virgin and, as some priestly writers wrote, precisely
at that same moment when she held open the book of the Prophet Isaiah and was
contemplating his great prophecy: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son!"
(Isaiah 7:13). Gabriel appeared in all of his angelic brightness and saluted her: "Rejoice,
highly favored one! The Lord is with you" (St. Luke 1:28), and the rest in order as it is written
in the Gospel of the saintly Luke. With this angelic annunciation and the descent of the Holy
Spirit upon the Virgin, the salvation of mankind and restoration of all creation began. The
history of the New Testament was opened by the words of the Archangel Gabriel: "Rejoice,
highly favored one" This is to imply that the New Testament was to signify joy to mankind and
to all created things. It is from this that the Annunciation is considered not only a great feast,
but a joyful feast as well.

2. THE HOLY FEMALE MARTYRS PELAGIA, THEODOSIA AND DULA

These three holy women suffered for the Lord. After imprisonment and sufferings both
Pelagia and Theodosia were beheaded. St. Dula, who was a servant girl, suffered alone in
the city of Nicomedia. These three white roses, watered by the blood of the martyrs, were
transplanted by God into His heavenly garden.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE HOLY MOTHER OF GOD

(The Theotokos)

O WHAT WONDERFUL NEWS: REJOICE, ALL-PURE ONE,

FOR US, YOU GAVE BIRTH TO

CHRIST!

O JOYFUL NEWS: REJOICE O VIRGIN,

RADIANT DOVE!
 REJOICE O MARY, REJOICE, O ONE FULL OF GRACE,

YOU, THE GOLDEN GATE!

O BURNING BUSH, UNCONSUMED,

THE DAWN OF NEW SPLENDOR!

GABRIEL COMPOSES THE WORDS, AND HE HIMSELF REJOICES,

THE ANNUNCIATION HE PROCLAIMS!

PROCLAIMS THE ANNUNCIATION, ALL OF HEAVEN LISTENS,

YOUR SOUL TREMBLES!

IN THE TEMPLE YOU SERVED, TO GOD YOU CONSECRATED YOURSELF,

YOU BECAME THE TEMPLE!

REJOICE, O PURE ONE, HEAVENLY BRIDE,

YOU ARE THE ROYAL THRONE!

REJOICE, O HUMBLE ONE, TO THE HUMBLE ONE, YOU

WILL GIVE BIRTH,

AND REGENERATE THE WORLD!

REJOICE, O OBEDIENT ONE, GOD HEARD YOU

AND CROWNED YOU WITH GLORY!

REJOICE, O TEARFUL ONE, BY TEARS SOFTENED,

BY THE SPIRIT GLISTENING!

REJOICE, O POOR ONE, BUT THE WEALTHIEST ONE

AND BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN!

FOR US, PLEAD JOY, FROM CHRIST YOUR SON,

O VIRGIN, ALL-PURE ONE!

REFLECTION

Abba Athanasius was asked by some: "How is it that the Son is equal to the Father?" He
answered, "Just as there are two eyes but one sight." The response is admirable. To this we
can add: just as there are two ears but one hearing. The same is with all three Divine
Hypostases: just as there are three candles but one and the same light.

CONTEMPLATION
To contemplate the All-Holy Virgin Mary:

1. How she served God for eleven years in the Temple humbly, obediently and devotedly;

2. How she served God in her chamber in Nazareth, humbly, obediently and devotedly;

3. How humbly, obediently and devotedly she received the Divine Annunciation from the
Archangel Gabriel.

HOMILY

About the omnipotent Word of God

"For nothing will be impossiblefor God" (St. Luke 1:37). "Then God said, Let there be light,
and there was light" (Genesis 1:3). Until

God spoke, there was no light. Nor was there anyone who could know what light was, until
God spoke, and light came into being. In the same manner, when God spoke, then water and
the dry land came into existence, the firmament of the heavens, vegetation, animals and
finally man. Until God spoke, none of this existed nor was there anyone, except God, Who
could know that all of this could exist. By the power of His word, God created all that is
created on earth and in the heavens. Whatever God wanted to exist and spoke that it be,
must be and it cannot but be, for the word of God is irresistible and creative. The creation of
the world is a great miracle of the word of God.

Having created all things, God again, by His word, established the order of creation and the
manner of behavior and relationship of creatures one with another. This order and manner
which God established is a great miracle of God's word. There exists an order and manner
among created things, visible and comprehensible for us people; and there also exists an
order and manner, invisible and incomprehensible. According to that invisible and
incomprehensible order and manner, which is a mystery in the Holy Trinity, there have
occurred and are occurring those manifestations which people call miracles. One such
manifestation is the conception of the Lord Jesus Christ in the womb of the All-Holy Virgin
Mary without a husband [The Virgin Birth]. This appears like an interruption in the visible and
comprehensible order and manner but it is never an interruption for the invisible and
incomprehensible order and manner. This birth, truly, is a great miracle; perhaps the greatest
miracle that was ever revealed to us mortals. But the entire created world is a miracle, and all
the visible and comprehensible order and manner is a miracle, and altogether these miracles
came about by the word of God; therefore, much in the same way the Lord was conceived in
the Virgin's womb. Both one and the other was all brought about by the power and word of
God. That is why the wonderful Gabriel replied to the question of the All-Pure One which is
the question of all generations: "How can this be?" (St. Luke 1:34), and he answered her: "For
nothing will be impossible for God" (St. Luke 1:37).

O Lord God, our Creator, Immortal and Existing Miracle-Worker, enlighten our
minds that we no longer doubt, but believe and enlighten our tongue that it not
question You, but praise You.
 March 26

1. THE HOLY ARCHANGEL GABRIEL

Gabriel is the announcer of the Incarnation of the Son of God. He is one of the seven
archangels who stand before the Throne of God. He appeared to Zacharias about the birth of
the Forerunner. Gabriel said of himself, "I am Gabriel, who stand before God" (St. Luke 1:19).
His name Gabriel means "Man - God." The Holy Fathers, in speaking about the Annunciation,
interpret that an archangel with such a name was sent to signify who and what He would be
like, who must be born of the All-Pure One. Therefore, He will be Man-God, mighty and
powerful God. Some of the Fathers understood that this same Gabriel appeared to Joachim
and Anna concerning the birth of the Virgin Mary and that Gabriel instructed Moses in the
wilderness to write the Book of Genesis. The Holy Fathers think that Gabriel has pre-
eminence in the first and greatest order of heavenly powers, that is, the Seraphic Order, since
the Seraphims stand closest to God. He is, therefore, one of the seven Seraphims, closest to
God. The names of the seven are MICHAEL, GABRIEL, RAPHAEL, URIEL, SALATHIEL,
JEGUDIEL, BARACHIEL. To this number some even add JEREMIEL. Each one has their
own particular service and all are equal in honor. Why did God not send Michael? Because
Michael's service is to suppress the enemies of the Faith of God while Gabriel's is the mission
of announcing the salvation of mankind.

2. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR IRENAEUS OF SREM

It is thought that Irenaeus was a Slav. He was married and had children prior to becoming a
bishop. He suffered for Christ during the reign of Maximian. At the time of horrible sufferings,
his relatives stood around him crying and begged him to spare himself and them [that is, to
deny Christ]. But this wonderful priestly-martyr loved the wounds of Christ more than all the
riches of this world. At the same time Seren, a certain gardener in Srem, also suffered at the
hands of Prince Probus, as did Afrius suffer in Regia. Because Irenaeus did not want to deny
his faith, Prince Probus ordered that he be hurled from a bridge into the Sava river, where this
shepherd of Christ's flock died and took up habitation among the citizens of heaven. He
honorably suffered in the year 304 A.D.

3. THE VENERABLE MALCHUS

Malchus was a farmer from the vicinity of Antioch, and from his youth his entire soul was
directed toward God. The Arabs enslaved him and while in slavery forced him to take a black
woman for a wife. He converted her to the Faith of Christ and they lived together as brother
and sister. Conspiring with each other, they escaped from bondage. The Arabs almost
overtook them. They found shelter in a cave in which they saw a lioness with her pups, and
they became frightened. But God protected them. The lioness did not harm them but killed an
Arab who wanted to enter the cave to apprehend the runaways. Arriving at their destination,
his wife entered a convent and Malchus entered a monastery. He lived many years, mortifying
himself, and took up habitation among the citizens of heaven in the fourth century.

4. VENERABLE BASIL, THE NEW

At first Basil lived in the forest without shelter or hearth. When he was captured, they
questioned him saying," Who are you?" He replied, "One of the living on earth." They
suspected him and thinking that he was a spy, tortured him. In the end, he lived for many
years in freedom in Constantinople. He discerned all the human mysteries of man, perceived
the future and worked great miracles. His maid was the elder woman Theodora who, when
she died, appeared to Gregory, Basil's novice, and described to him the twenty levels of
judgment [Mitarstvo] through which every soul must pass. On March 25, 944 A.D., St. Basil
peacefully died and took up habitation in the wonderful heavenly family. After his death he
was seen in great glory by a citizen of Constantinople.
 HYMN OF PRAISE

THE ARCHANGELS

Seven golden-headed of angelic rank,

Seven archangels, the highest spirits:

Michael, the sword for adversaries, is the first;

By the sword, he renders payment to those who wage war against God.

Gabriel, the herald of God's incarnation

And all wondrous recorder of human salvation.

Raphael, as a sun, is the servant of the Trinity;

Of vast human afflictions, he is the physician.

Uriel is the radiant light of God,

Of human souls, the enlightener.

Selathiel, the intercessor, prayers he presents,

And prayers of the people before God, he brings.

Jegudiel, glorifier of God the Almighty,

He, the willing man, to glory encourages,

Barachiel, dispenser of the blessing of heaven,

From God, he gives what men need.

REFLECTION

When a miracle occurs, do not be confused by it, rather, rejoice. God has placed His finger
there, either to reward or to punish or to encourage His faithful or to lead the sinners on the
path of salvation. People frequently compare this world to a fiery chariot. When you see a
locomotive or another steam engine, you know that an engineer is hidden from view. That
does not surprise you, does it? If the engineer puts his head out of the cab, waves his hand,
extends a rod, waves a handkerchief, or tosses out a letter, or makes some other sign, you
know that this does not interfere with the travel of the locomotive and does not damage one
pin in it. Why, then, do the faithless say that God with His miracles interferes with the
movement of these earthly chariots? Why? Because the faithless are unreasonable. The
faithful rejoice at God's signs. A child is frightened before a fiery chariot but rejoices when a
man, resembling himself, appears from the chariot. O, how dear it is to us when, from this
mute universe which hurls around us, someone appears resembling us and that someone is
one who recognizes and loves us! When a miracle occurs, know that He Who resembles us
greets us and says, "Do not be afraid, I am beyond all of this." St. Basil the New worked many
miracles. Through prayer he healed the sick and discerned the fate of people like an open
book. Through His chosen ones, God, as always, demonstrated His love and power to men in
order to firmly establish the faithful in the Faith and to shame the unfaithful and to return them
to the Faith.
 CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus crucified on the cross:

1. How He used the last breath of life and saves a thief on the cross;

2. How He commends His soul into the hands of the Father "Father, into Your hands I
commend My Spirit" (St. Luke 23:46).

HOMILY

About the impending advent of the Lord

"Behold, I am coming soon"(Revelation 22:7).

The unfaithful and the slayers of the spirit will say, "Nearly two thousand years ago He
promised that He will come and He has not come yet!" This is how they, who ridiculed Him,
will lament in eternal torment. But we who are prepared for happiness in His Kingdom know
that He will come in power and glory just as He promised. We know that He has already come
countless times and showed Himself to His faithful ones. Did He not come to John the Divine
[the one who saw God] to whom He spoke these words, "Behold, I am coming soon?" John
saw Him in power and glory and felt His hand on him when he was frightened and fell before
His feet as dead, "And He touched me with His right hand" (Revelation 1:17). Did He not
come to Saul when in the beginning he breathed hatred against the Christians and when on
the road to Damascus fell on the ground, seeing the Lord and hearing His voice saying, "Saul,
Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (Acts of the Apostles 9:4). And again, did He not enter
into the heart of the Apostle Paul when he recognized that "Yet I live, no longer I, but Christ
lives in me!" (Galatians 2:20). Did He not come to the countless martyrs, both male and
female, who suffered for His Name, to encourage them, to heal them, and to have mercy on
them? Did He not come to Anthony the Great, Theodore Stratelates, St. Haralambos, St.
Marina, St. Sylvester and many, many more? What are we saying? Did He not return from the
Kingdom of Death on the third day and appeared before the apostles? Did He not come to the
aid of the Church many, many times and, as out of the dead, resurrected it whenever her
enemies rejoiced, thinking that they had given His Church over to death forever? Did He not
appear in His power in the Church at the time of Nero as well as at the time of Constantine; at
the time of Julian, as well as at the time of Justinian; at the time of Arab tyranny, as well as at
the time of the Turkish and Mongolian oppression over Christians?

O, my faithful brethren, do not submit to deception. He came countless times and

comes even today. He comes to every soul to whom He can, regardless of impurity.
However, we are all waiting for Him to come for the last time in power and glory. We
know that His coming is certain. O Lord Most Gracious, before You come, make us
worthy to recognize Your face and to be ashamed of our faces, darkened by sin.
 March 27

1. THE HOLY MARTYR, MATRONA

As an orphan girl Matrona was a servant in the home of a Jew in Thessalonica. The wife of
the Jew continuously mocked Matrona because of her faith in Christ and tried to persuade her
to deny Christ and to attend the synagogue. But the meek Matrona went about her work
conscientiously and did not say anything to her mistress. But in secret she prayed to Christ
the God. On one occasion the Jewess discovered that Matrona was attending church
unbeknown to her and, in anger, questioned her as to why she did not attend the synagogue
rather than the church? To that, Matrona replied, "Because in the Christian churches, God
lives and He withdraws from the Jewish synagogues." Furious, because of this type of bold
reply, the Jewess beat Matrona, locked her up in a dark room, and, in addition to that, bound
her hands. The next day as she was kneeling in prayer and glorifying God, her ropes had
fallen off by the power of God. Afterwards, on two occasions, she was locked up again and, in
the end, died of starvation. This evil Jewish woman then took the body of this holy maiden
and hurled it to the ground from the heights of her home. Christians took the body of this
martyr and buried it with honors. Alexander the bishop, learning of the many miraculous
works of this holy martyr, erected a church over her grave. The evil Jewess received her just
punishment when she slipped, fell to the pavement, and was smashed to death from the
same spot at the top of the house from which she hurled down Matrona's body.

2. VENERABLE JOHN "THE DISCERNER"

John was a woodsman until his twenty-fifth year and then, driven by an insatiable desire for
constant prayer, withdrew into the wilderness where he lived until his death, during his
ninetieth year. He was a corporeal being but lived as an incorporeal being. He discerned the
heart of every person who came to him and was able to discern their name, their desires, and
their thoughts. He prophesied to Emperor Theodosius the outcome of his battles. He
prophesied for generals, monastics, and for all who found it necessary to know what was
hidden for them in the darkness of future days. A prince once begged John to receive his wife
who especially wanted to meet him. The saint did not allow empty inquisitiveness but
appeared to the wife of the prince in a dream showing her what he was like. When the woman
described her vision in the dream to her husband, he confirmed that, indeed, this was the
likeness of the saint. To every visitor, he taught humility as the basis of the virtues, always
citing examples from life of how pride has toppled many exalted characters into dust and led
them into serious sins. He endured many assaults of evil spirits. On one occasion, Satan
appeared to him with a myriad of demons under the guise of shining angels. They pressured
him to worship Satan, lying to him, saying that it [Satan] is Christ. But John answered wisely,
"I bow down and worship my King, Jesus Christ, everyday. If that were He, He would not
demand me to do so now, especially since I already worship Him." Following these words, all
the evil powers vanished as smoke. He died peacefully kneeling in prayer in his ninetieth
year.

3. THE VENERABLE PAPHNUTIUS

Paphnutius was a disciple of St. Anthony the Great. By his sanctity of life, Paphnutius
converted many sinners to the path of repentance, as did St. Thais, who is commemorated on
October 8. Paphnutius resembled an incorporeal angel more than a corporeal man. He died
toward the end of the fourth century.

HYMN OF PRAISE

VENERABLE JOHN THE DISCERNER ON HUMILITY

John the Discerner, teacher of humility,

 With tears of joy, about humility he spoke:

O beloved children, right-believing children,

The humbler you are, to God more dear

Asceticism, without humility helps not at all,

His soul to the devil, the arrogant one offers.

Your soul, if you empty of self,

The Living God will then fulfill you.

Than God Himself, Who is more humble?

His priority, nowhere does He indicate.

In secret, without clamor, the world He directs,

Therefore, the insane think that He does not even exist.

If the wind would not blow, nor shriek, nor howl,

About it, the insane would also say that it does not exists!

He who has humility, himself reprimands,

In every virtue, that one easily succeeds.

Than the poor in spirit, humility is nothing more,

That is the Savior's blessed teaching:

In yourself, do not have any hope,

In God place all of your hopes,

That is holy humility. Whoever violates it

The darkest destruction for his soul, that one prepares.

The thoughts of all the saints, in that, they are strict

Without much humility, no one is saved!

Joyous is the humble, because God rules with him.

O, beloved children, Being humble is akin to being saved!

REFLECTION

"There is no cleanness in him who thinks evil," says St. Simeon the New Theologian; and he
further adds, "How can there be a pure heart in him, who soils it with impure thoughts as a
mirror is darkened by dust?" Do you see then, the inexcessible height of which the religion of
Christ stands above all other faiths and worldly sophistries? He who only thinks about evil,
even though he does not commit any evil, is at fault before God and before his own soul. For
he offends God and loses his soul. To be a Christian, in the proper sense, means to invest
enormous effort on cleansing evil thoughts from one's heart and mind. What kind of effort is
that? There exists a complete study about this, which in our days became completely locked
away even for us Christians, and the one enormous actual experience of holy men and
women who justified that study. To cleanse oneself from these wicked and impure thoughts,
the root of all evil, was the goal of all the great ascetics, hermits and silentaries.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus in death:

1. How He Who resurrected from the dead, hangs on the cross, a lifeless body;

2. How He died for our sake so that we would have more abundant life and more abundant
truth about immortal life.

HOMILY

About Christian as kings and priests

"You made them a kingdomand priests for God"(Revelation 5:10).

The Lord Jesus wants to make all men similar to Himself. As the Son of God, He wants all
men to become the adopted sons of God. As a King, He wants them to be co-kings with Him.
As a Priest, to be co-priests with Him. As Almighty, to share in His strength. As Eternal, to
share in His immortality. As Holy, to share in His holiness. As the Resurrected One, to all be
the children of the resurrection. This, the Lord desired and that is why He descended to earth:
to separate us from the animals and to elevate us above the life of the animals and to give us
dignity over His visible creation, a dignity which Adam had in Paradise before the Fall.
Because of this, His love for mankind and His salvatory plan for all people, the Lord was
crucified on the cross by the Jewish elders. And even from us Christians today, He reaped the
thorns of ingratitude and misunderstanding countless times. We show ourselves to be
ungrateful and unreasonable whenever we undermine and trample His commandments. By
his sins every sinner plaits a new wreath of thorns and places it on His Sacred Head. When
did He ever offend us, that we did this to Him? When did He ever think evil about anyone of
us, that we return Him evil? He lowered Himself into our fetid pit where we have become
accustomed to live with snakes and scorpions and pulled us higher to the heights, to light and
purity in the kingdom. He wants to make us kings and priests, and we drive away His saving
hand and return to the pit with snakes and scorpions.

O brethren, enough and more than enough of this humiliation of Him and destruction
of ourselves. Let us firmly grab the hand of our Savior and follow Him. He desires
good for us. He does good for us. For our good, He suffered. He is our One and Only
Friend Who does not change.
 March 28

1. THE VENERABLE MARTYR EUSTRATIUS OF THE CAVES IN KIEV

Eustratius was very wealthy and, being touched with love for Christ, distributed his entire
estate for the sake of Christ and entered the monastery of Pecer and was tonsured a monk.
When the Polovtsians waged war against Kiev in 1097 A.D., they plundered the monastery
and slew many Christians, including monks. Eustratius, alone, with some of the faithful, were
sold into slavery to a Jew in the city of Khorsum [Chresom]. This Jew ridiculed the Faith of
Christ and attempted to coerce the Christians into embracing the Jewish religion. Seeing that
they had no other alternative, they all agreed to starve themselves to death and not to deny
the True Faith. Eustratius encouraged the Christians to follow that decision. They all died of
hunger; some after three days, some after four and some after seven. Being accustomed to
fasting, Eustratius, alone, remained alive and endured fourteen days without food. The Jew,
angered because he lost money with which he purchased the slaves, took out his revenge on
Eustratius by nailing him to a cross. Eustratius praised God from the cross and prophesied a
severe and imminent death for the Jew. Wild with rage, the Jew pierced him with a spear. The
saint of God gave up his soul to his Savior. His body was thrown into the sea, but it floated to
the surface. Great miracles occurred over this martyr's body. Shortly after the death of
Eustratius, the Byzantine emperor decreed that the Jews of the city of Khorsum be punished
for their wickedness toward Christians. This tormentor of Christians was hung on a tree and
received the reward of Judas.

2. VENERABLE HILARION, THE NEW CONFESSOR

Hilarion was the abbot of a monastery of Pelekit, near Hellespont. He glowed as the sun with
the spirit of God, healed people and expelled evil spirits. This man of God suffered at the time
when Leo the Armenian began the Iconoclastic persecution. With forty of his monks, Hilarion
was sent into exile near Ephesus and died there in prison and took up habitation in the
Kingdom of Christ in 754 A.D.

3. THE VENERABLE HESYCHIUS OF JERUSALEM

A presbyter and profound theologian, Hesychius was a disciple of St. Gregory the Theologian
and a contemporary of St. Euthymius the Great. One should read his glorious work
"Concerning Sobriety in Prayer." He died peacefully in the year 434 A.D.

4. THE HOLY MARTYR BOYAN, BULGARIAN PRINCE

Boyan was the son of Krutogan and the nephew of Grubash. Boyan confessed his faith in
Christ; however, his brother Milomir was a pagan. By decree of his brother, Boyan was
beheaded for the True Faith in the year 827 A.D.

5. THE MIRACULOUS OCCURRENCE OF TAXIOTIS

Taxiotis was a soldier from Carthage. He spent his entire life in grievous sinsbut finally
repented, left the military service and lived a God-pleasing life. While he was with his wife on
his estate near the city, he committed adultery with the wife of his farm worker. Afterwards, he
was bitten by a snake and died immediately. Taxiotis was dead for six hours after which he
arose. Then, on the fourth day, he spoke and related how and what kind of level of judgment
he had passed through until he came to the level of judgment [Mitarstvo] for adultery. There,
he fell into the dark abode of demons from which he was led out by an angel who attested on
his behalf and was sent back in the flesh to repent for his latest sin. He repented for forty
days, going from church to church, beating his head against the doors and thresholds, always
crying and telling of the terrible sufferings which sinners undergo in the other world. He
implored men not to sin but to repent for those sins already committed. On the fortieth day,
with rejoicing, Taxiotis took up habitation into the Kingdom of the Merciful God.
 HYMN OF PRAISE

TAXIOTIS THE SOLDIER

Throughout all of Carthage, Taxiotis sobbed,

Telling to all, the horrors seen:

The horrors, O brethren, what my soul saw!

O malodorous abyss where my soul descended!

O monsters terrible, and mud and shrieks!

O weeping without tears, wailing and screaming!

Not six hours did I think, but a hundred years,

In the world of Hades, that, an inhabitant I was!

Until a radiant angel, a guarantee for me offered,

Raised and lowered me near Carthage,

That I, he said, in the body be clothed again;

For my latest misdeed, to repent.

When, upon the body, the smelly corpse I gazed,

My strength left me and my joy perished:

This smelly corpse, O, how can I enter?

How, in this loathsome carrion, to be clothed?

O, how, until now, could I have in it remained?

For pleasure, that garbage, my soul to lose?

O, radiant angel, spare me pain,

Force me not, anymore, into that fetid shame!

At my crying out, the angel, angry became:

Who in the body sins, in the body repents!

Thus, sternly he said and, added this:

Either, into the body you will, or into Hades again?

When Hades he mentioned, I fell painfully silent,

 Rapidly to the body I approached and into the body crawled.

Forty days for repentance, I have,

And a lesson to all and a warning.

Repent, O brethren, quickly repent,

With your sins into Hades, do not stumble.

Repent quickly, only repent,

Repentance will not be allowed you there.

Taxiotis is relating to you what he, himself, saw

O, fetid abyss, where my soul descended!

REFLECTION

St. Simeon the New Theologian, in speaking about a handsome twenty year old youth,
George by name, who, despite his beauty and youth and living among the conceited of the
world, recognized the path of salvation and was enlightened by spiritual wisdom, concludes
with these words: "Do you understand how youth does not hinder nor does old age help a
man, if he does not have reason and the fear of God." What prevented the young Apostle
John from believing in Christ the Lord? What were the benefits of age to the Jewish elders
when they were blinded in mind and in their blindness sentenced the Son of God to death?
Nothing, nothing prevents youth in the young, even in our time, from giving their faith and love
to Christ, who created them out of love. Nothing benefits the age of the aged in our time if
their souls are poisoned with maliciousness toward Christ. Young and old bodies are nothing
more than a new and an old garment of the soul. One or the other of these garments can
conceal a healthy or a sick soul. Our goal is a healthy and clean soul.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus in death:

1. How all of nature trembled when He gave up the Spirit, as though to protest against this
criminal act of the race of men;

2. How the earth quaked, the sun darkened, the rocks were split, the veil of the temple was
rent and the graves were opened.

HOMILY

About the horror of nature at the death of Christ

"The earth quaked, rocks weresplit" (St. Matthew 27:51).

O, what a terrible reproach against mankind! Even dead nature recognized Him Whom men
were unable to recognize. All mute things trembled and began to protest, each in its own way
and in its own language. The mute earth quakes--that is its language. The stones split apart--
that is their language. The sun withholds its light--that is its language. All of creation in its own
way protested. For all of creation is submissive to Him, as it was to Adam at one time in
Paradise, because all of creation recognizes Him as it did Adam in Paradise. How is it that
irrational creation knew Him and was obedient to Him, we do not know. It is some kind of
inner instinct of irrational creation, which came to them from the word of God, by which they
were created. That instinct of irrational creation is more valuable than the mind of man when
darkened by sin. Of all the things which are in existence, nothing is more blind than the mind
of man when darkened by sin. Not only does he not see what was created to be seen, rather,
he sees that which is contrary to being, contrary to God, and contrary to the truth. These are
the degrees of the blindness; beneath blindness; these are numbers below zero. This is man
of lower creation. For when the priests of God in Jerusalem did not recognize their God, the
storms and winds recognized Him; vegetation and animals recognized Him; the seas, the
rivers, the earth, the stones, the stars, the sun and even the demons recognized Him. O what
kind of shame it is for mankind!

The earth quaked, the rocks split, the sun darkened, as much in anger as in sorrow. All
creation grieved over the pain of the Son of God, in Whose pain the priests in Jerusalem
rejoiced. Protests and sorrow and fear! The whole of creation was frightened at the death of
Him Who cried to them arise from nothing and rejoice in your being. As though it wanted to
say: with whom do we remain and who will now uphold us when the Almighty gives up the
Spirit?

O brethren, let us be ashamed of this protest, these sorrows and this fear of the mutes
of creation! With repentance let us cry out to the Lord, the Victor: forgive, O
Compassionate Lord, for indeed, whenever we sin and offend You, we do not know
what we are doing.
 March 29

1. SAINT MARK, CONFESSOR AND BISHOP OF ARETHUSA IN SYRIA

We are told about Mark's suffering by St. Gregory the Theologian and by Blessed Theodorit.
According to this report, Mark, during the reign of Emperor Constantine, destroyed a pagan
temple and converted many to the Faith of Christ. When Julian ascended the throne and,
shortly thereafter, apostatized from the Faith of Christ, a citizen of Arethusa then also denied
Christ and reverted to paganism. Then they rose up against Mark because he destroyed their
temple, seeking that he either rebuild the temple or pay a large sum of money. Since the aged
Mark refused to do either of the two, he was flogged, mocked and dragged through the
streets. After that they severed his ears with a thin but strong thread. They then stripped him,
rubbed him with honey, and left him tied to a tree in the heat of summer so that he would be
bitten by wasps, mosquitoes, and hornets. The martyr of Christ endured all without moaning.
Mark was very old, but in his countenance he shone like an angel. The pagans reduced the
price for their temple even more and finally sought from Mark an insignificant sum, which he
could have easily given, but he refused to give even one coin for this purpose. His patience
made an enormous impression on the citizens, and they began to admire him for it and to feel
sorry for him. They then lowered the cost of the temple to practically nothing, in order to allow
him to live. Finally, they permitted him to go free, and one by one they all received instruction
from him and returned to the Faith of Christ. At the same time, in the city of Heliopolis at the
foot of Mt. Lebanon Cyril a deacon, suffered for a similar act. During the time when
Christianity enjoyed freedom, Cyril destroyed some idols and under Julian the Apostate, was
brutally tortured. So embittered were the pagans against him that when they killed him, they
tore and ripped open his entrails with their teeth. The same day on which St. Cyril suffered,
many others also suffered. The spiteful pagans carved up their bodies into pieces, mixed
them with barley and feed it to the swine. Punishment reached them swiftly: all of their teeth
fell out and an unbearable stench emitted from their mouths.

2. VENERABLE JOHN THE HERMIT

John was the son of Juliana, a Christian woman in Armenia. As a young boy, he left his
mother and withdrew into the wilderness, completely enflamed with love toward Christ the
Lord. In the wilderness, he first surrendered himself to the guidance of a spiritual director,
Pharmutius, who had been found so worthy before God that an angel of God brought him
bread daily. Afterwards, the young John distanced himself and withdrew into solitude. He
lowered himself into a dry well where he spent ten years in fasting, prayer and vigils. St.
Pharmutius brought bread from the angel and gave it to him. So that John would not become
proud, the angel of God did not want to give bread to the young John personally, but rather
through his spiritual father Pharmutius. After ten years of difficult mortification in the well, St.
John presented himself to the Lord. His relics revealed itself to be wonder-working. He lived
and was glorified by God and men in the fourth century.

HYMN OF PRAISE

THE LORD, HERO OF HEROES

The Hero Lord, all heroes gathers He,

All who can maintain the Faith,

Faithful to God, and to death remain;

And who can, sufferings to endure

Offering thanksgiving to God

 And of their sufferings being proud;

And, who others can forgive,

And insults to receive as praise;

And still, who others can instruct

From the sinful path to righteousness return

With a sorrowful, compassionate soul,

And who can be merciful,

In the joy of others, to rejoice,

And with a weeping heart to cry;

And who can, himself restrain

From evil deeds, words and thoughts,

From over-indulging in drink and food

Who, his body, does not please

But considers it a temporary dustbin

On the battlefield, from which he struggles

His God-given soul to preserve,

To preserve the Christian Faith,

So that into the city of Paradise to enter,

Where the Kingdom of the Lord of Heroes is,

Where, with heroes, the Hero reigns,

With heroes, not of this world.

REFLECTION

Spiritists of our day accept every manifestation from the spiritual world as though sent by
God, and immediately they boast that God has been "revealed" to them. I knew an eighty
year old monk whom everyone respected as a great spiritual director. To my question: "Have
you ever in your life seen anything from the spiritual world?", the monk answered me, "No,
never, praise be to God's Mercy." Seeing that I was astonished at this, he said, "I have
constantly prayed to God that nothing appear to me, so that, by chance, I would not succumb
to pride and receive a fallen devil as an angel. Thus far, God has heard my prayers." This
recorded example shows how humble and cautious the elders were. The devil, clothed in the
light of an angel, appeared to a certain monk and said to him: "I am the Archangel Gabriel
and I am sent to you." To that, the brother responded, "Think! Were you not sent to someone
else, for I am not worthy to see an angel?" The devil instantly became invisible and vanished.
 CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus in death:

1. How darkness encompasses everyone;

2. How fear enters into everyone present beneath the cross;

3. How the frightened captain of the guard cried out: "Truly, this was the Son of God!" (St.
Matthew 27:54).

4. How the prophecy of our Lord's death was fulfilled.

HOMILY

About the miraculous opening of the graves

"Tombs were opened, andthe bodies of many saintswho had fallen asleep were raised" (St.
Matthew 27:52).

O, what a great sign! The dead bodies of holy men and women recognized Him, Who, on the
cross, died in pain; but the dead souls of the elders of the Jews did not recognize Him. The
whole of creation trembled, but only the criminal souls of Anna, Caiphas and Herod did not
tremble. Dead saints showed themselves more sensitive than living sinners. How could the
dead saints remain indifferent toward their Creator on the cross when not even the dead
stones could not remain indifferent? How is it that during this event from which the earth
quaked and the sun darkened, the bodies of those righteous could sleep in the graves, those
who fulfilled His Dispensation of Old, those who hoped in Him for life, those who prophesied
about Him and, with hope in Him, closed their eyes?

O, what a great sign! O, what a great comfort it is for us who hope in the resurrection! For
according to our weakness and little faith, we could say, "Truly, Christ is Risen." But will we
also be resurrected? Christ resurrected by His Own power but, how shall we resurrect? Who
knows if God will resurrect us by His own Power. Here is consolation, here is proof: "Tombs
were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised." This means
that death was unable to annihilate even ordinary man. This means that those who are much
lower than Christ are not dead as stones, rather are alive as angels. This means that one day
even our bodies will arise from the tombs, that we will live also. All that our Lord said is
substantiated and overflowing with countless testimonies. Knowing the weakness of our faith,
He proved the prophecy of His resurrection not also by His particular resurrection, but also by
His raising many bodies from the tombs at the time of His own death.

O brethren, not one of us will have the least excuse for not believing in life after death.

O Lord, All-Merciful, strengthen the faithful in the Faith and return the unfaithful to
the Faith.
 March 30

1. THE VENERABLE JOHN CLIMACUS

John Climacus is the author of "The Ladder of Divine Ascent." John came to Mt. Sinai as a
sixteen year old youth and remained there, first as a novice under obedience, and afterwards
as a recluse, and finally as abbot of Sinai until his eightieth year. He died around the year 563
A.D. His biographer, the monk Daniel, says about him: "His body ascended the heights of
Sinai, while his soul ascended the heights of heaven." He remained under obedience with his
spiritual father, Martyrius, for nineteen years. Anastasius of Sinai, seeing the young John,
prophesied that he would become the abbot of Sinai. After the death of his spiritual father,
John withdrew into a cave, where he lived a difficult life of asceticism for twenty years. His
disciple, Moses, fell asleep one day under the shade of a large stone. John, in prayer in his
cell, saw that his disciple was in danger and prayed to God for him. Later on, when Moses
returned, he fell on his knees and gave thanks to his spiritual father for saving him from
certain death. He related how, in a dream, he heard John calling him and he jumped up and,
at that moment, the stone tumbled. Had he not jumped, the stone would have crushed him. At
the insistence of the brotherhood, John agreed to become abbot and directed the salvation of
the souls of men with zeal and love. From someone John heard a reproach that he talked too
much. Not being angered by this, John however remained silent for an entire year and did not
utter a word until the brothers implored him to speak and to continue to teach them his God-
given wisdom. On one occasion, when six-hundred pilgrims came to the Monastery of Sinai,
everyone saw an agile youth in Jewish attire serving at a table and giving orders to other
servants and assigning them. All at once, this young man disappeared. When everyone
noticed this and began to question it, John said to them, "Do not seek him, for that was Moses
the Prophet serving in my place." During the time of his silence in the cave, John wrote many
worthwhile books, of which the most glorious is "The Ladder." This book is still read by many,
even today. In this book, John describes the method of elevating the soul to God, as
ascending a ladder. Before his death, John designated George, his brother in the flesh, as
abbot. George grieved much because of his separation from John. Then John said to him,
that, if he [John] were found worthy to be near God in the other world, he would pray to Him,
that, he, [George], would be taken to heaven that same year. And, so it was. After ten months
George succeeded and settled among the citizens of heaven as did his great brother, John.

2. MEMORIAL TO A MONK WHO JOYFULLY DIED AND WHO NEVER JUDGED ANYONE
IN HIS LIFE

This monk was lazy, careless, and lacking in his prayer life; but throughout all of his life, he
did not judge anyone. While dying, he was happy. When the brethren asked him how is it that
with so many sins, you die happy? He replied, "I now see angels who are showing me a letter
with my numerous sins. I said to them, Our Lord said: `stop judging and you will not be
judged' (St. Luke 6:37). I have never judged anyone, and I hope in the mercy of God that He
will not judge me." And the angels tore up the paper. Upon hearing this, the monks were
astonished and learned from it.

HYMN OF PRAISE

SAINT JOHN OF THE LADDER (CLIMACUS)

As a kind of torch on Sinai, the Mount,

John was glowing in heavenly light

Subduing the body, subdued his thoughts,

Thirty steps, he numbered toward victory.

 Miraculous strategy, wonderful tactic

As a legacy, to the spiritual warrior he gave

The spiritual warfare, who desires to learn

And in this warfare to gloriously conquer.

"The Ladder," all miraculous, by the Spirit written,

After the dreadful strife was ended,

When John the Victor, the world from himself shed,

As a precious gift, to the brethren he brought it.

An epic poem, that is the soul of man,

When from dust, toward heaven it desires to climb,

An awesome epic poem of struggle and suffering,

A sparkling epic poem of faith and hoping.

This, John, to us gave, illumined by God,

Weapons, all-glowing, to you and to me.

And now before the Lord, John prays

That the Lord be pleased to send us help

When, to Him, by the Ladder we climb.

That to us, His hand He extends, that we

May to Him arrive.

REFLECTION

If humility before men is necessary for the sake of being exalted before God and temporal
effort for the sake of eternal life, what do you care if someone wags their head and laughs at
your humility? John the Silentary [the Hesychast] was a bishop in Ascalon for ten years.
Seeing that the honors of men hindered him, he disguised himself as a simple monk and
entered the Monastery of St. Sabas the Sanctified, where he was assigned to gather wood
and to boil lentils for the laborers. When he was recognized, he closed himself in a cell, where
he lived for forty-seven years, feeding on vegetables only. This is how the Fathers avoided
worldly honors, for which many in our day, in neck-breaking struggle, squander their souls
away to dust and ashes.

CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus in death:

1. How His body is taken down from the cross by Joseph of Arimathea;
2. How Joseph and Nicodemus wrapped the Body of the Lord in a pure linen cloth, anointed
Him with ointments and placed Him in a new tomb;

3. How faithful and unafraid were these two distinguished men among the many enemies of
Christ in the midst of general fear and denials.

HOMILY

About recognizing the Son of Man among the common darkness

"Truly, this was the Son of God" (St. Matthew 27:54).

These words were spoken by the captain who carried out his duties conscientiously as a
soldier. Under orders of his superiors, he had to guard the body of Christ on Golgotha.
Externally, like a machine, but internally, a soul wide awake.

He, a Roman soldier, a pagan, and an idolater, saw all that had occurred at the time of the
death of Christ the Lord, and cried out: "Truly, this was the Son of God." Not knowing about
the One God and not knowing the Law and the Prophets, he immediately comprehended that
which the priests of the One God and authorities of the Law and the Prophets were unable to
comprehend! On this occasion, the word of God came true. "I came into this world for
judgment, so that those who do not see, might see, and those who do see, might become
blind" (St. John 9:39). Truly, he who was blind in the spirit saw and those who thought they
could see were completely blinded. Was it not possible that the elders of the Jews did not see
the darkened sun, did not feel the earthquake, did not notice how the rocks were split, did not
see that the veil in the Temple was rent, did not recognize many of the saints who came out
from opened graves and appeared in Jerusalem? They saw all of this and all of them
accurately witnessed all of this. Nevertheless, their spirits remained blind and their hearts,
stony. All of these manifestations, the awesome and the unusual, they probably interpreted as
the unbelieving would do today - accidents and illusions. The pagans of all times interpret
everything as accidents or self-deceptions whenever the finger of God appears to reprimand
men, to direct or to inform them. The Roman captain Longinus, which was the soldier's name,
saw all that occurred without prejudice and beneath the cross confessed his faith in the Son
of God. His exclamation was not wrested accidentally from his frightened heart. But that was
his confession of faith, for which he later on laid down his life to embrace a better life in the
Kingdom of Christ.

O brethren, how great is this Roman captain, who upon seeing the lifeless Lord between
thieves crucified on the dunghill of Golgotha, recognized Him as God and confessed Him as
God. O brethren, how petty are those Christians who recognize the Lord as resurrected, as
Glorified, as the Victor and the Victor-bearer through thousands of His saints but,
nevertheless, retain in their hearts doubt like a poisonous serpent who poisons them every
day and buries their lives in eternal darkness.

O crucified and resurrected Lord, have mercy on us and save us!

 March 31

1. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR HYPATIUS THE BISHOP OF GANGRA

Hypatius was born in Cilicia and was the bishop of Gangra. He was present at the First
Ecumenical Council [Nicaea, 325. A.D.] and was renowned throughout because of his pious
and saintly life and his miracle-working. The Emperor Constantius ordered that a likeness of
Hypatius be made during the saint's lifetime. The emperor kept this likeness in his palace as a
weapon against all adverse powers. Once upon returning from Constantinople, Hypatius was
attacked in a narrow gorge by Novatian heretics and, along with others, was hurled to the
ground in mud. At that moment a woman from that group struck him in the head with a stone
and, thus, the saint died. Immediately that woman went insane and took that same stone and
struck herself with it. When they took her to the grave of St. Hypatius, he interceded before
God on her behalf. She was healed by the great compassionate soul of Hypatius and lived
the remainder of her life in repentance and prayer. St. Hypatius died and took up habitation in
the eternal Kingdom of Christ the God, in the year 326 A.D.

2. SAINT JONAH, METROPOLITAN OF MOSCOW

Jonah was born in the province of Kostrom. In his twelfth year he was tonsured a monk and
as such lived for a long time in the Simonov Monastery in Moscow. At the time of Metropolitan
Photius, Jonah became Bishop of Ryazn. When Photius died, Jonah was elected as
metropolitan and sent to the patriarch in Constantinople for approval and consecration. At the
same time, Isidorus, a Bulgarian by descent, outwitted Jonah and arrived before him in
Constantinople and was consecrated as the Metropolitan of the Russians. Jonah returned to
his cathedral in Ryazn. Isidorus, the malicious one, ended his incumbency of the Metropolitan
See nefariously. Isidorus attended the Council of Florence [1439 A.D.] and then, after three
years, returned to Moscow. Everyone attacked him as an apostate from Orthodoxy and
banished him. It is unknown where he ended his life. Jonah, the good and wise shepherd,
ascended the throne of the Metropolitan See. He was a great worker of miracles, "a
discerner," and a spiritual director. When the Agarians surrounded Moscow, Jonah repelled
them through his prayers. In his later years he wished that he could be afflicted by an illness
so that he could suffer pain and that, through pain, completely purify himself before his
departure to the other world. According to his wishes, God permitted a sore on his foot ,which
was preceded by a vision to a certain priest, James. The saint died from these wounds and
took up habitation among the heavenly citizens on March 31, 1461 A.D. Many miracles have
occurred over his relics. A certain mute, John by name, was brought before the relics of the
saint. John kissed the hand of Jonah and, as he related later, the hand grabbed him by the
tongue and he felt a sharp pain. When the hand released his tongue, John returned to those
people who brought him and began to talk as though he was never a mute.

3. THE PRIESTLY-MARTYR AUDAS

Audas was a bishop of the city of Susa. He was beheaded for Christ in the year 418 A.D. in
Persia by Emperor Yezdegird. His deacon, St. Benjamin, was released by the tormentors with
the understanding that he would never preach the Gospel again. In the beginning he agreed,
but Benjamin could not sustain this in his heart and continued to spread the truth of Christ
among the people. For this Benjamin was captured and killed three years after St. Audas in
the year 421 A.D.

4. THE VENERABLE APOLLONIUS

Apollonius was a renowned Egyptian ascetic. In his fifteenth year he renounced the world and
withdrew to a mountain where he lived for forty years feeding on vegetation. After that, he
established a monastery in which five-hundred monks lived. He died peacefully in the year
395 A.D.
 HYMN OF PRAISE

TRUTH

Know the truth, the Lord commands,

Who knows the truth, himself does not allow to be enslaved.

To the faithful, truth gives freedom,

And by truth, the faithful rule over the world.

Falsehood and bondage are as a source and river,

Falsehood, forever in bondage, holds the liar.

Falsehood is the midnight darkness which leads astray

And by this wayward path leads men into the abyss.

Falsehood shackles one with fear, fear from everyone,

From men and the world and demons evil.

Truth is the light which disperses darkness

And grants freedom to the despondent slave,

Freedom from men, freedom from the world,

Freedom from fear and demons cursed.

Who recognizes truth, freedom, that one receives,

With freedom, even authority over all adversaries.

The cradle for freedom, truth prepares,

For without truth, there is not true freedom.

REFLECTION

St. John of the Ladder says: "He who in his heart is proud of his tears and secretly condemns
those who do not weep is like a man who asks the king for a weapon against his enemy and
then commits suicide with it" (Step 7). If your heart is softened, be it from repentance before
God or be it from knowing the boundless love of God toward you, do not become proud
toward those whose hearts are still hard and calloused. Remember how long it has been
since you had a hard and calloused heart. There were seven brothers who were ailing in a
hospital. One of them was restored to health and rose to his feet. He hurried to serve his
other brothers with fraternal love and concern so that they too would recover. You be like that
brother also. Consider that all men are your brothers, sick brothers. If you feel that God has
given you health before them, know that it was given to you through mercy, so that even you
as a healthy person may serve others who are sick. Of what do we have to be proud? As
though good health comes from ourselves alone and not from God. As though a mud hole
can cleanse itself and not from a source deeper and cleaner.
 CONTEMPLATION

To contemplate the Lord Jesus in death:

1. How His body lies peacefully in a grave;

2. How He descended in the Spirit to the souls in Hades in order to redeem the souls of the
forefathers.

HOMILY

About joy after sorrow

"So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice" (St.
John 16:22).

The father steps up to the gallows and his sons are crying around him. Instead of the sons
comforting him, he comforts his sons. Something similar to this happened to the Lord and His
disciples. Walking toward His bitter death, the Lord is more saddened because of the grief of
His disciples, rather than by that which He has to endure. He caresses them with consolation
and encourages them with the prophecy of the new and impending vision: "But I will see you
again." This is a prophecy about the resurrection. Many times our Lord prophesied His death,
but when He prophesied His death, He also prophesied His resurrection. Nothing unforeseen
ever did happen to Him. He did not prophesy about Himself only, but also about them [the
disciples]. They will be in great sorrow as a woman when she gives birth and endures pain.
As a woman forgets her pain and rejoices when she gives birth "for a child has been born into
the world" (St. John 16:22), so will it be with them. In their consciousness Christ the Lord was
not completely in the form of the God-Man. As long as they had known Him as a sufferer and
mortal man, they only knew Him partially; until then, the pain of birth lasts in their souls. But
when they see Him again, resurrected and alive, miraculous and almighty, Lord over all things
in heaven and on earth, the pain and sorrow will cease and joy will appear in their hearts. For
Christ will be completely formed in their consciousness as the God-Man and then they will
know Him in His fullness and in His totality. Only then will He be totally born for them.

So with us brethren, as long as we know Him only from His birth to His death on Golgotha, we
know the Lord Jesus partially. We will know Him completely only when we know Him as the
Resurrected One, the Victor over death.

O Lord All-victorious, have mercy on us and by Your resurrection cause us to rejoice

as You comforted and made joyful Your disciples.