Friday, February 6 / January 24 (Church Calendar)
Saints of the Day
January 24 / February 6. St. Xenia of Rome and her two female slaves. St. Macedonius, hermit of Syria. Martyrs Babylas of Sicilyand his two disciples, Timothy and Agapius. Translation of the Relics of St. Anastasius the Persian. Martyrs Paul, Pausirius, andTheodotian, of Egypt. St. Philo, Bishop of Kalpa in Cyprus. St. Philippicus the presbyter. Martyr Barsimaeus of Syria and his two brothers. St. Zosimas, Bishop of Babylon in Egypt. St. Dionysius of Olympus and Platina (and Mt. Athos). Martyr John of Kazan. St. Gerasimus, Bishop of Perm. St. Xenia of Petersburg, fool-for-Christ [Gal 3:23-4:3; Matt 25:1-13]. St. Felician, Bishop of Foligno in Italy. (Greek Calendar: Martyrs Hermogenes and Mamas. St. Neophytecluse of Cyprus.) Repose of Abbess Sophia of Shamordina Convent (1888) and Bishop Nektary of Seattle (1983).
Quote of the Day
The soul that is given over to the will of God fears nothing; neither thunder nor thieves nor any such thing. Whatever may come, ‘Such is God’s pleasure,’ she says. If she falls sick she thinks, ‘This means that I need sickness, or God would not have sent it.’
Saint Silouan
Scripture Readings for the Day
2 Peter 1:1-10
Greeting the Faithful
1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Fruitful Growth in the Faith
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;
Mark 13:1-8 (New King James Version)
Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple
1 Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!”
2 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”
5 And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 6 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,‘ and will deceive many. 7 But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.
Photo of the Day
Photo taken from the highest point of the Monastery, where one can see Quarter Master Harbor, the Puget Sound, and the skyscrapers of downtown Seattle, off in the distance. We hope to eventually build a gazebo on this sight.
Video of the Day:The following utube was produced in Russia, by one Father Roman. We’ve been periodically receiving this, as people discover it on the internet, and forward it on to me. I’d like to share this with all of you. Although the photos are quite dated, and a bit blurry (they were taken off our website), we were deeply moved that someone would do this for us.
Kolokolny Zvon (The Voice of the Bells) Zhanna Bichevskaya and Hieromonk Roman