Salvation Through Sorrows
“A continuously happy life produces extremely unhappy consequences. In nature we see that there are not always pleasant springs and fruitful summers, and sometimes autumn is rainy and winter cold and snowy, and there is flooding and wind and storms, and moreover the crops fail and there are famine, troubles, sicknesses and many other misfortunes. All of this is beneficial so that man might learn through prudence, patience and humility. For the most part, in times of plenty he forgets himself, but in times of various sorrows he becomes more attentive to his salvation.”
Saint Ambrose of Optina
#salvation #sorrow #happy
Wednesday January 29, 2025 / January 16, 2025
32nd Week after Pentecost. Tone six.
Fast.
Veneration of the Precious Chains of the Holy and All-glorious Apostle Peter.
Blessed Maximus of Totma (Vologda), fool-for-Christ (1650).
New Hieromartyr John priest (1919).
Martyrs the brothers Speusippus, Eleusippus, and Meleusippus, their grandmother Leonilla, and with them Neon, Turbo, and the woman Jonilla (Jovilla), in Cappadocia (ca. 161-180).
Martyr Danax the Reader in Macedonia (2nd c.).
St. Honoratus the Archbishop of Arles and Founder of Lerins Monastery (429).
Venerable Romilos, monk of Mt. Athos and Ravanica (Serbia) (1375), disciple of St. Gregory of Sinai, and with him Sts. Nestor, Martinius, Daniel, Sisoes, Zosimas, and Gregory (Greek).
New Hieromartyr Damascene of Hilandar on Mt. Athos and Gabrovo (Bulgaria) (1771) (Greek).
St. Honoratus, archbishop of Aries and founder of Lerins Monastery (429).
St. Sigebert, king of the East Angles, martyr (635) (Celtic & British).
St. Fursey of Burgh Castle, enlightener of East Anglia and Langy (650) (Celtic & British).
St. James of Tarentaise (429).
New Martyr Nicholas of Mitylene (1777).
The Scripture Readings
11
Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?
12
Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
13
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.
14
But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth.
15
This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic.
16
For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.
17
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
18
Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
1
Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
2
You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
3
You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4
Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5
Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
6
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:”God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
23
For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
24
Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
25
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
26
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Thursday Reading
James 4:7-5:9
7
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9
Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
11
Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.
12
There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
13
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”;
14
whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
15
Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”
16
But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
1
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you!
2
Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
3
Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.
4
Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5
You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter.
6
You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you.
7
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.
8
You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
9
Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!
27
Then they came again to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him.
28
And they said to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things? And who gave You this authority to do these things?”
29
But Jesus answered and said to them, “I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things:
30
The baptism of John-was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me.
31
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’
32
But if we say, ‘From men’ -they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed.
33
So they answered and said to Jesus, “We do not know.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
Acts 12:1-11 Apostle
1
Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church.
2
Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.
3
And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. Now it was during the Days of Unleavened Bread.
4
So when he had arrested him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four squads of soldiers to keep him, intending to bring him before the people after Passover.
5
Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.
6
And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.
7
Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands.
8
Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”
9
So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.
10
When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.
11
And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”
John 21:15-25 Apostle
15
So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.”
16
He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My sheep.”
17
He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep.
18
Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.
19
This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.”
20
Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?”
21
Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”
22
Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”
23
Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”
24
This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.
25
And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.
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