He Who Lives the Will of God Has No Worries
With all the troubles that are now befalling our world, many people find themselves worrying about the future. Bad economic times have made job stability a cause for concern, and record breaking climate changes are inflicting further hardships on communities at a time when our country can ill afford to help people recover from loss. Yet for the Christian, we know that worrying will change nothing, for our faith in Divine Providence leads us to know that the only thing me must be concerned about, is doing the will of God.
How do we know we’re living according to the will of God? The Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica tells us, “He who lives according to God’s will has no worries. When he needs something, he simply prays for it. If he does not receive that which he asked for, he is joyful as though he had received it. A soul that has given itself over to God has no fear of anything, not even robbers, sickness, or death. Whatever happens, such a soul always cries, ‘It was the will of God’.”
With love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon
Photo: I’m staying in Berkeley with the Capuchin Franciscans, until I drive to Saint Nicholas Church in Saratoga, on Saturday. Brother Peter Ciolino, OFM Cap., guardian of Berkeley’s Capuchin House of Studies, and a close friend for over thirty years, together with young Capuchin students.
Friday March 14, 2014
Second Week of the Great Lent. Tone four.
Great Lent. By Monastic Charter: Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)
Martyr Eudocia of Heliopolis (152).
New Hieromartyr Olga (1937).
New Hieromartyrs Basil, Peter, John, Benjamin, Michael priests, New Hieromartyr Anthony, Virgin-martyrs Anna, Daria, Eudokia, Alexandra, Martyr Basil, Virgin-martyr Nadezhda (1938).
New Hieromartyr Alexander priest (1942).
New Hieromartyr Basil priest (1943).
New Hieromartyrs Abbess Antonina of Kizliar (1924), Methodius (1920) and Anastasia Andreyevna, fool-for-Christ.
Venerable Martyrius, abbot of Zelenets (Tikhvin) (1603).
Martyrs Nestor, Tribimius, Marcellus, and Anthony of Perge in Pamphylia (3rd c.).
Martyr Antonina of Nicaea in Bithynia (284-305).
Venerable Domnina of Syria (450-460).
Venerable Agapius of Vatopedi Skete of Kolitsou, Mt. Athos, and his four companions.
Venerable Swidbert, monastic founder on the Rhine River (713).
St. David of Wales, bishop (6th c.) (Celtic & British).
St. Albinus, bishop of Angers (550).
St. Leo-Luke of Corleone, Sicily (900).
New Martyr Paraskevas of Trebizond (1659).
Martyrs Sophronius and Silvester (Greek).
Martyrs Charisius, Nicephorus, and Agapius (Greek).
You can read the life of the saint by clicking on the highlighted name.
The Scripture Readings for the Day
Isaiah 7:1-15
Isaiah Sent to King Ahaz
7 Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to make war against it, but could not prevail against it. 2And it was told to the house of David, saying, “Syria’s forces are deployed in Ephraim.” So his heart and the heart of his people were moved as the trees of the woods are moved with the wind.
3Then the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out now to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub your son, at the end of the aqueduct from the upper pool, on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, 4and say to him: ‘Take heed, and be quiet; do not fear or be fainthearted for these two stubs of smoking firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria, and the son of Remaliah. 5Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah have plotted evil against you, saying, 6“Let us go up against Judah and trouble it, and let us make a gap in its wall for ourselves, and set a king over them, the son of Tabel”— 7thus says the Lord God:
“It shall not stand,
Nor shall it come to pass.
8For the head of Syria is Damascus,
And the head of Damascus is Rezin.
Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken,
So that it will not be a people.
9The head of Ephraim is Samaria,
And the head of Samaria is Remaliah’s son.
If you will not believe,
Surely you shall not be established.”’”
The Immanuel Prophecy
10Moreover the Lord spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11“Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.”
12But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the Lord!”
13Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. 15Curds and honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good.
Genesis 5:32-6:8
32And Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
The Wickedness and Judgment of Man
6 Now it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born to them, 2that the sons of God saw the daughters of men, that they were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves of all whom they chose.
3And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.” 4There were giants on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men and they bore children to them. Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.
5Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.
Proverbs 6:20-7:1
Beware of Adultery
20My son, keep your father’s command,
And do not forsake the law of your mother.
21Bind them continually upon your heart;
Tie them around your neck.
22When you roam, they will lead you;
When you sleep, they will keep you;
And when you awake, they will speak with you.
23For the commandment is a lamp,
And the law a light;
Reproofs of instruction are the way of life,
24To keep you from the evil woman,
From the flattering tongue of a seductress.
25Do not lust after her beauty in your heart,
Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
26For by means of a harlot
A man is reduced to a crust of bread;
And an adulteress will prey upon his precious life.
27Can a man take fire to his bosom,
And his clothes not be burned?
28Can one walk on hot coals,
And his feet not be seared?
29So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
Whoever touches her shall not be innocent.
30People do not despise a thief
If he steals to satisfy himself when he is starving.
31Yet when he is found, he must restore sevenfold;
He may have to give up all the substance of his house.
32Whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding;
He who does so destroys his own soul.
33Wounds and dishonor he will get,
And his reproach will not be wiped away.
34For jealousy is a husband’s fury;
Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance.
35He will accept no recompense,
Nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts.
7 My son, keep my words,
And treasure my commands within you.