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"A brother said to Abba Poemen, 'If I fall into a shameful sin, my conscience devours and accuses me saying: "Why have you fallen?"'. The old man said to him, 'At the moment when a man goes astray, if he says, I have sinned, immediately the sin ceases.'"

—Poemen (called the Shepherd) from "The sayings of the desert fathers"

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Fri 3rd Jul 2009

Today's readings
Epistle: Romans 11:25-36
Romans 11:25-36

25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:

" The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;

27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins."

28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers.

29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience,

31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy.

32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!

34 " For who has known the mind of the LORD?
Or who has become His counselor?"

35 " Or who has first given to Him
And it shall be repaid to him?"

36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Gospel: Matthew 12:1-8
Matthew 12:1-8

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.

2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"

3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:

4 how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?

5 Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?

6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.

7 But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.

8 For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."


Saint of the Day

Christ 2nd April
St Hyacinth the Martyr of Caesarea in Cappadocia

The Martyr Hyacinth, who was from Caesarea of Cappadocia, was the chamberlain of the Emperor Trajan. On being constrained by the Emperor to partake of the sacrifices offered to idols and not wishing to do so, he was shut up in prison without food, where he gave up his spirit to God in the year 108 AD.

Dismissal Hymn (Fourth Tone)

Your Martyr, O Lord, in his courageous contest for You received the prize of the crowns of incorruption and life from You, our immortal God. For since he possessed Your strength, he cast down the tyrants and wholly destroyed the demons' powerless presumption. O Christ God, by his prayers, save our souls, since You are merciful.

Kontakion (Fourth Tone)

Like a fragrant hyacinth of the Church of Christ, O all-blessed Hyacinth, you radiate grace to the ends of the world. By the brilliance of your confession of faith, you were illustrious in contest in emulation of God the Word and you ever illumine those who acclaim you. (read more)

Also celebrating:
Anatolios, Patriarch of Constantinople
Gerasimos the Holy Martyr of Karenesi

His Eminence

The readers of this column would undoubtedly have observed that, through a series of previous articles… (read more)

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