God’s House is Entered with Awe and Fear
We must practice reverence in the temple, whether during services or when we step into the church to light a candle and venerate the holy icons. The temple is the place set apart for the worship of the Holy Trinity and is the place where the Bloodless Sacrifice is offered before the Throne of God.
It is in the temple that we receive the Body and Blood of our Saviour unto remission of sins and unto life everlasting. It is the holy place where we are cleansed of our sins through the threefold immersion of baptism, becoming members of One Body, the Church.
The temple is the place where we seek to be reconciled with God through the Mystery of Penance and enter into the life of the Spirit. The temple is God’s house and must be entered with awe and the fear of God.
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Thursday May 5, 2022 / April 22, 2022
Second Week of Pascha. Tone one.
Venerable Theodore the Sykeote, bishop of Anastasiopolis (613).
New Hieromartyr Eustaphius priest (1918).
Hieromartyr Platon of Banja Luka (1941).
Martyr Demetrius (1942).
Apostles Nathaniel, Luke, and Clement.
Translation of the relics of St. Vsevolod (in holy baptism Gabriel), prince and wonderworker of Pskov (1138).
Venerable Vitalis of the monastery of Abba Serid (Seridos) at Gaza (609-620).
Martyr Epipodius of Lyons (177) (Gaul).
Martyr Leonidas of Alexandria (202).
Martyr Nearchus (Greek).
The Scripture Readings
Acts 4:23-31
Prayer for Boldness
23 And being let go, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. 24 So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said: “Lord, You are God, who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all that is in them, 25 who [a]by the mouth of Your servant David have said:
‘Why did the nations rage,
And the people plot vain things?
26 The kings of the earth took their stand,
And the rulers were gathered together
Against the Lord and against His Christ.’
27 “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together 28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done. 29 Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.
John 5:24-30
Life and Judgment Are Through the Son
24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. 25 Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. 30 I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.