From The Greek Orthodox Arch-Diocese of America:
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Daily Scripture Readings and Lives of the Saints for Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Fast Day (Dairy, Eggs, and Fish Allowed)
Readings for today:
Joel 3:12-21
Joel 2:12-26
Feasts and Saints celebrated today:
Hesychios the Martyr
Our Holy Father Nicholas Planas
Andronikos & Athanasia the Martyrs
Theodotos the Holy Martyr, Bishop of Cyrenia
Old Testament Reading
The reading is from Joel 3:12-21
Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of
Jehosh'aphat; for there I will sit to judge all the nations round about.
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the
wine press is full. The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.
Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord
is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are
darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
And the Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge to his
people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.
"So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwell in Zion, my
holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy and strangers shall never
again pass through it.
"And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills
shall flow with milk, and all the stream beds of Judah shall flow with
water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and
water the valley of Shittim.
"Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the
violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent
blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited for ever, and
Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, and I will not
clear the guilty, for the Lord dwells in Zion."
(C) 2011 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Old Testament Reading
The reading is from Joel 2:12-26
"Yet even now," says the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with
fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not
your garments." Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and
merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of
evil. Who knows whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a
blessing behind him, a cereal offering and a drink offering for the Lord,
your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly;
gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the elders;
gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his
room, and the bride her chamber.
Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the
Lord, weep and say, "Spare thy people, O Lord, and make not thy
heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say
among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'"
Then the Lord became jealous for his land, and had pity on his people.
The Lord answered and said to his people, "Behold, I am sending
to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will
no more make you a reproach among the nations.
"I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a
parched and desolate land, his front into the eastern sea, and his rear
into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for
he has done great things.
"Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great
things! Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the
wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and vine give
their full yield.
"Be glad, O sons of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for he
has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for
you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.
"The threshing floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow
with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years which the swarming
locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great
army, which I sent among you.
"You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the
Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall
never again be put to shame."
(C) 2011 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Hesychios the Martyr
Reading from the Synaxarion:
Holy martyr Hesychios lived during the reign of king Maximian in 302.
He was the first and the leader in the royal palace and the Senate,
because he was magistrianus by office. When Maximian ordered that all
Christians who were royal soldiers ought to be deprived of their belts
(which were a sign of their royal merit) and live as civilians and
without honour, many Christians preferred to live without any outward
honour due to this illegal order than to be honoured and lose their
soul. St. Hesychios was numbered with these Christians as well. When
the king heard this, he ordered that the saint ought to be stripped
of the expensive clothes, which he used to wear, and be dressed with
a shabby mantle without sleeves woven from hair and to be as
disgraced and disdained as to consort with women.
When this had been carried out, the king invited him and asked him:
"Aren't you ashamed, Hesychios, that you lost the honour and office of
magistrianus and that you have been debased to this kind of life? Or maybe you
don't know that the Christians, whose way of life you preferred, have
no power to restore you to your previous great honour and office?"
The saint replied: "Your honour, o king, is temporary but the honour
and glory which Christ gives is eternal and without end." Because of
these words the king got angry and ordered his men to tie a great
millstone around the saint's neck and then to throw him in the middle of
river Orontus, which lies in Coele Syria and which is commonly called
Oronge. Thus, the blessed man received the crown of martyrdom from the
Lord.
Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Thy Martyr, O Lord, in his courageous contest for Thee received the
prize of the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal
God. For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants
and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ
God, by his prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.
Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
When thou didst follow in the steps of the Martyrs, thou didst ascend
unto the height of divine love, which made thee Godlike, O most wise
Hesychius; when thou didst forsake the court of a king that was earthly,
thou wast honoured in the courts of the King of the Angels; and cast
into the river, thou didst find the living water of true and eternal
life.
Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA
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Daily Scripture Readings and Lives of the Saints for Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Fast Day (Dairy, Eggs, and Fish Allowed)
Readings for today:
Joel 3:12-21
Joel 2:12-26
Feasts and Saints celebrated today:
Hesychios the Martyr
Our Holy Father Nicholas Planas
Andronikos & Athanasia the Martyrs
Theodotos the Holy Martyr, Bishop of Cyrenia
Old Testament Reading
The reading is from Joel 3:12-21
Let the nations bestir themselves, and come up to the valley of
Jehosh'aphat; for there I will sit to judge all the nations round about.
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the
wine press is full. The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.
Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord
is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are
darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
And the Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth shake. But the Lord is a refuge to his
people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.
"So you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who dwell in Zion, my
holy mountain. And Jerusalem shall be holy and strangers shall never
again pass through it.
"And in that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and the hills
shall flow with milk, and all the stream beds of Judah shall flow with
water; and a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and
water the valley of Shittim.
"Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the
violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent
blood in their land. But Judah shall be inhabited for ever, and
Jerusalem to all generations. I will avenge their blood, and I will not
clear the guilty, for the Lord dwells in Zion."
(C) 2011 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Old Testament Reading
The reading is from Joel 2:12-26
"Yet even now," says the Lord, "return to me with all your heart, with
fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not
your garments." Return to the Lord, your God, for he is gracious and
merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of
evil. Who knows whether he will not turn and repent, and leave a
blessing behind him, a cereal offering and a drink offering for the Lord,
your God?
Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly;
gather the people. Sanctify the congregation; assemble the elders;
gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his
room, and the bride her chamber.
Between the vestibule and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the
Lord, weep and say, "Spare thy people, O Lord, and make not thy
heritage a reproach, a byword among the nations. Why should they say
among the peoples, 'Where is their God?'"
Then the Lord became jealous for his land, and had pity on his people.
The Lord answered and said to his people, "Behold, I am sending
to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will
no more make you a reproach among the nations.
"I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a
parched and desolate land, his front into the eastern sea, and his rear
into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for
he has done great things.
"Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great
things! Fear not, you beasts of the field, for the pastures of the
wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and vine give
their full yield.
"Be glad, O sons of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord, your God; for he
has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for
you abundant rain, the early and the latter rain, as before.
"The threshing floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow
with wine and oil. I will restore to you the years which the swarming
locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great
army, which I sent among you.
"You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the
Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall
never again be put to shame."
(C) 2011 Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
Hesychios the Martyr
Reading from the Synaxarion:
Holy martyr Hesychios lived during the reign of king Maximian in 302.
He was the first and the leader in the royal palace and the Senate,
because he was magistrianus by office. When Maximian ordered that all
Christians who were royal soldiers ought to be deprived of their belts
(which were a sign of their royal merit) and live as civilians and
without honour, many Christians preferred to live without any outward
honour due to this illegal order than to be honoured and lose their
soul. St. Hesychios was numbered with these Christians as well. When
the king heard this, he ordered that the saint ought to be stripped
of the expensive clothes, which he used to wear, and be dressed with
a shabby mantle without sleeves woven from hair and to be as
disgraced and disdained as to consort with women.
When this had been carried out, the king invited him and asked him:
"Aren't you ashamed, Hesychios, that you lost the honour and office of
magistrianus and that you have been debased to this kind of life? Or maybe you
don't know that the Christians, whose way of life you preferred, have
no power to restore you to your previous great honour and office?"
The saint replied: "Your honour, o king, is temporary but the honour
and glory which Christ gives is eternal and without end." Because of
these words the king got angry and ordered his men to tie a great
millstone around the saint's neck and then to throw him in the middle of
river Orontus, which lies in Coele Syria and which is commonly called
Oronge. Thus, the blessed man received the crown of martyrdom from the
Lord.
Apolytikion in the Fourth Tone
Thy Martyr, O Lord, in his courageous contest for Thee received the
prize of the crowns of incorruption and life from Thee, our immortal
God. For since he possessed Thy strength, he cast down the tyrants
and wholly destroyed the demons' strengthless presumption. O Christ
God, by his prayers, save our souls, since Thou art merciful.
Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
When thou didst follow in the steps of the Martyrs, thou didst ascend
unto the height of divine love, which made thee Godlike, O most wise
Hesychius; when thou didst forsake the court of a king that was earthly,
thou wast honoured in the courts of the King of the Angels; and cast
into the river, thou didst find the living water of true and eternal
life.
Reading courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA
Apolytikion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA
Kontakion courtesy of Holy Transfiguration Monastery - Brookline, MA
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