From antiochan.org, dynamispublications.org, biblegateway.com and rongolini.com:
Daily Readings:
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: The translation of the relics of the holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch (under Theodosius the Younger, 408-450)
Scriptural Readings:
Saint Luke 16:10-15 (1/29-2/11) Gospel for Saturday: Thirty-first Week after Pentecost
Fidelity: Saint Luke 16:10-15, especially vs.13: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Christ our God contrasts fidelity to infidelity, dedication to neglect or betrayal. He places the whole of each one’s life “...in the sight of God” (vs. 15), raising the issue of our ultimate trustworthiness as God’s servants. Shall we have “...a good defense before the fearful judgment seat of Christ...”?
The Lord Jesus is clear: the smallest details and responsibilities of life, which we are given to manage faithfully before Him, are subject to His constant and ultimate scrutiny (vs. 10). He examines our fidelity, ranging over ordinary, temporal matters in this life as well as over our care for “...the true riches” of His heavenly Kingdom (vs. 11). Accept the truth that God judges both our stewardship of things in His creation and our care for that which, in the words of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, “we may receive...which is our own, even that holy and admirable beauty which God forms in the souls of men, fashioning them like unto Himself, according to what we originally were.” You and I are steward of our inner life, not the masters! Semper fidelis!
The Lord Jesus’ first standard for judging fidelity is straight-forward: “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much” (vs. 10). You and I shall be evaluated by God rigorously, more than even the Pharisees and the Scribes. With respect to the details of complying with the minutiae of the Mosaic Law, they were scrupulous. He noted how careful they were to “...tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs...” (Luke 11:42). Furthermore, He tells us, His pledged disciples, that “...unless [our] righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, [we] will by no means enter the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:20). Here’s what we face: how do we measure up?
With the Lord, fidelity is, of course, a matter of the heart. One pays attention to details in life out of joy for belonging to Christ Jesus. As the Pilgrim states: “according to the Holy Fathers, one who performs saving works simply from the fear of Hell follows the way of bondage, and he who does the same just in order to be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven follows the path of a bargainer with God. The one they call a slave, the other a hireling. But God wants us to come to Him as sons to their Father.” True fidelity delivers (Mt. 21:28-29).
In the Lord’s second standard for judging the fidelity of His servants, He evaluates both our care for the things of this world and our care for “...the true riches” (Lk. 16:11). We shall never advance to the care of all that is sought in eternity until we gain steadfastness in handling the lesser things of this life that God sets before us. Once we have begun to act as sons, joyfully fulfilling the details of this present life, we find a larger duty incumbent on us: “to be faithful unto God, pure in heart, merciful and kind, just and holy; for,” as Saint Cyril of Alexandria says, “...these things imprint in us the outlines of the divine likeness, and perfect us as heirs of eternal life.” Now we are speaking of the true riches promised to Christ’s good stewards.
If we evidence fidelity with the ‘true riches,’ then we have reasonable hope that God will also entrust to us that which truly is “[our] own” (vs. 12). What is ‘our own’? It is that which flows from the authentic human nature God gives. Saint Paul teaches that God created us “...in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Let us do good with fidelity to God, aiming at the divine beauty that He yearns to form in us - His gifts of “...love, joy, peace, longsuffering...” (Gal 5:22,23) and so much more.
O Lord, help us labor in the mystical field, cultivating faithfully the fruits of repentance.
Colossians 1:3-6
Colossians 1:3-6 (King James Version)
3We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
5For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
6Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
The Synxarion:
January 29
The translation of the relics of the holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch (under Theodosius the Younger, 408-450)
Thrown into Rome's amphitheater, Saint Ignatius was torn apart by beasts who left only his hardest bones. An incomparable treasure, his relics were transferred to Antioch, deposited in a place called the "Cemetery," and preserved for the holy Church by the martyr's intercession. Consequently, his relics were transferred to an ancient pagan temple, called Tychaion. (Temple of Fortune), which God suggested to Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450) to consecrate to the glorious martyr for his greater veneration. These holy relics were then carried into the city on a chariot and placed inside the ancient pagan temple with great religious solemnities.
Fifth Class Feast.
Daily Readings:
Saints/Martyrs/Feasts/Fasts to be observed/commemmorated/celebrated: The translation of the relics of the holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch (under Theodosius the Younger, 408-450)
Scriptural Readings:
Saint Luke 16:10-15 (1/29-2/11) Gospel for Saturday: Thirty-first Week after Pentecost
Fidelity: Saint Luke 16:10-15, especially vs.13: “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Christ our God contrasts fidelity to infidelity, dedication to neglect or betrayal. He places the whole of each one’s life “...in the sight of God” (vs. 15), raising the issue of our ultimate trustworthiness as God’s servants. Shall we have “...a good defense before the fearful judgment seat of Christ...”?
The Lord Jesus is clear: the smallest details and responsibilities of life, which we are given to manage faithfully before Him, are subject to His constant and ultimate scrutiny (vs. 10). He examines our fidelity, ranging over ordinary, temporal matters in this life as well as over our care for “...the true riches” of His heavenly Kingdom (vs. 11). Accept the truth that God judges both our stewardship of things in His creation and our care for that which, in the words of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, “we may receive...which is our own, even that holy and admirable beauty which God forms in the souls of men, fashioning them like unto Himself, according to what we originally were.” You and I are steward of our inner life, not the masters! Semper fidelis!
The Lord Jesus’ first standard for judging fidelity is straight-forward: “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much” (vs. 10). You and I shall be evaluated by God rigorously, more than even the Pharisees and the Scribes. With respect to the details of complying with the minutiae of the Mosaic Law, they were scrupulous. He noted how careful they were to “...tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs...” (Luke 11:42). Furthermore, He tells us, His pledged disciples, that “...unless [our] righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, [we] will by no means enter the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:20). Here’s what we face: how do we measure up?
With the Lord, fidelity is, of course, a matter of the heart. One pays attention to details in life out of joy for belonging to Christ Jesus. As the Pilgrim states: “according to the Holy Fathers, one who performs saving works simply from the fear of Hell follows the way of bondage, and he who does the same just in order to be rewarded with the Kingdom of Heaven follows the path of a bargainer with God. The one they call a slave, the other a hireling. But God wants us to come to Him as sons to their Father.” True fidelity delivers (Mt. 21:28-29).
In the Lord’s second standard for judging the fidelity of His servants, He evaluates both our care for the things of this world and our care for “...the true riches” (Lk. 16:11). We shall never advance to the care of all that is sought in eternity until we gain steadfastness in handling the lesser things of this life that God sets before us. Once we have begun to act as sons, joyfully fulfilling the details of this present life, we find a larger duty incumbent on us: “to be faithful unto God, pure in heart, merciful and kind, just and holy; for,” as Saint Cyril of Alexandria says, “...these things imprint in us the outlines of the divine likeness, and perfect us as heirs of eternal life.” Now we are speaking of the true riches promised to Christ’s good stewards.
If we evidence fidelity with the ‘true riches,’ then we have reasonable hope that God will also entrust to us that which truly is “[our] own” (vs. 12). What is ‘our own’? It is that which flows from the authentic human nature God gives. Saint Paul teaches that God created us “...in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). Let us do good with fidelity to God, aiming at the divine beauty that He yearns to form in us - His gifts of “...love, joy, peace, longsuffering...” (Gal 5:22,23) and so much more.
O Lord, help us labor in the mystical field, cultivating faithfully the fruits of repentance.
Colossians 1:3-6
Colossians 1:3-6 (King James Version)
3We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,
4Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,
5For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;
6Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:
The Synxarion:
January 29
The translation of the relics of the holy Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-bearer of Antioch (under Theodosius the Younger, 408-450)
Thrown into Rome's amphitheater, Saint Ignatius was torn apart by beasts who left only his hardest bones. An incomparable treasure, his relics were transferred to Antioch, deposited in a place called the "Cemetery," and preserved for the holy Church by the martyr's intercession. Consequently, his relics were transferred to an ancient pagan temple, called Tychaion. (Temple of Fortune), which God suggested to Emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450) to consecrate to the glorious martyr for his greater veneration. These holy relics were then carried into the city on a chariot and placed inside the ancient pagan temple with great religious solemnities.
Fifth Class Feast.
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