Living the evangelical life of Orthodox monasticism in witness to the salvific truth of the Gospels of Our Lord, God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever!
Saints of the Day
June 19 / July 2. St. John of Shanghai and San Fransisco. Holy Apostle Jude, the Brother of the Lord. Martyr Zosimas the Soldier at Antioch in Pisidia. St. Paisius the Great. St. John the Solitary of Jerusalem. St. Zeno, hermit of Egypt. St. Barlaam, monk of Shenkursk. Holy Myrrh-bearer Mary, mother of Apostle James. New-Martyr Bishop Parthenius (1937). (Greek Calendar: Hieromartyr Asyncretus, martyred at the Church of Holy Peace by the Sea in Constantinople.) Repose of Blessed John (Maximovitch), Archbishop of Shanghai and San Francisco (1966), and Archbishop Leonty of Chile (1971).
Photo of the Day
A handsome young buck visited the monastery, yesterday morning.
Quote of the Day
Quote of the Day
“…There is one body and one spirit (Ephesians 4:4). The Holy Apostle counsels the faithful to strive to be one body and one spirit. By one body is understood “one Faith,” without divisions, without heresies and without self-will: the whole Church is one body of which Christ is the Head. By one spirit is understood “love,” the ardent love of all the faithful for Christ, from which proceeds mutual love. The many become as one; many men become as one man. This is the miracle of the Christian Faith and Christian love. There is no power in the world which can be a stronger bond among men: not the same blood, or the same language, or the same hearth, or the same parents, or any type of common material interests. None of these is even nearly as powerful a bond as Christian faith and love. By this powerful, irresistible bond, all the members of the Church are bound to each other. The Church of God stands as one man, in time and in eternity – one body and one spirit. There is nothing more contradictory to this wondrous unity than the pride of individual men. Pride distorts faith, cools love, creates heresies, divides the Church, and sacrifices the good of the whole for individual satisfaction. Pride, in essence, is the absence of both faith and love. Brethren, may God save us from pride, the primal infirmity of the human race, that we may always be one body and one spirit in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Bishop Nikolai Velimirovic
“The Prologue from Ochrid”
Scripture Readings for the Day
1 Corinthians 4:5-8
5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.
Fools for Christ’s Sake
6 Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against the other. 7 For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?
8 You are already full! You are already rich! You have reigned as kings without us—and indeed I could wish you did reign, that we also might reign with you!
Matthew 13:44-54
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”
They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
—
Very Rev. Abbot Tryphon
All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420
http://www.vashonmonks.com