Overwhelming Spiritual Power
“The patient endurance of the saints exhausts the evil power that attacks them, since it makes them glory in sufferings undergone for the sake of the truth. It teaches those too much concerned with a life in the flesh to deepen themselves through such sufferings instead of pursuing ease and comfort; and it makes the flesh’s natural weakness in the endurance of suffering a foundation for overwhelming spiritual power. For the natural weakness of the saints is precisely such a foundation, since the Lord has made their weakness stronger than the proud devil.”
Saint Maximus the Confessor
Tuesday May 27, 2025 / May 14, 2025
Sixth Week of Pascha. Tone five.
Martyr Isidore of Chios (251).
St. Isidore, fool-for-Christ, wonderworker of Rostov (1474).
New Hieromartyr Peter priest (1939).
Venerable Nicetas, bishop of Novgorod and recluse of the Kiev Caves (1108).
Martyr Maximus, under Decius (250).
Venerable Serapion the Sindonite, monk, of Egypt (542).
St. Leontius, patriarch of Jerusalem (1175).
Trebensk (1654) and Yaroslavl (Pechersk) Icons of the Mother of God (1823).
New Martyr John-Raiko of Shumena, Bulgaria (1802)) (Greek).
New Martyr Mark of Crete, at Smyrna (1643) (Greek).
First opening of the relics (1846) of St. Tikhon of Zadonsk (1783).
St. Aprunculus, bishop of Clermont in Gaul (Gaul).
Sts. Alexander, Barbarus, and Acolythus, martyred at the Church of Holy Peace by the Sea in Constantinople (Greek).
St. Andrew, abbot of Raphael (Tobolsk) (1820).
The Scripture Readings
19
And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak?
20
For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.
21
For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
22
Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious;
23
for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
24
God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
25
Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.
26
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings,
27
so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
28
for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
19
The Pharisees therefore said among themselves, “You see that you are accomplishing nothing. Look, the world has gone after Him!”
20
Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.
21
Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
22
Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23
But Jesus answered them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
24
Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
25
He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26
If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
27
Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
28
Father, glorify Your name. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.”
29
Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.”
30
Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.
31
Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
32
And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.
33
This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
34
The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
35
Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
36
While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light. These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.