The Morning Offering

Living the evangelical life of Orthodox monasticism in witness to the salvific truth of the Gospels of Our Lord, God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory to Him forever!

The Morning Offering
Thursday, October 8 / September 25 (Church Calendar)

Saints of the Day:

September 25 / October 8. Repose of St. Sergius, abbot, of Radonezh St. Euphrosyne, nun, of Alexandria. Martyr Paphnutius and 546 companions in Egypt. St. Euphrosyne, nun of Suzdal. Tr. re. St. Herman (Germanus), Archbishop of Kazan. Commemoration of the Earthquake in Constantinople in 447, when a boy was lifted up to heaven and heard the Trisagion. (Greek Calendar: Martyrs Paul and Tatta and their children Sabinian, Maximus, Rufus and Eugene of Damascus.) Repose of Elder Dositheus (actually a woman), recluse of the Kiev Caves who blessed St. Seraphim to go to Sarov (1776).

Photo of the Day:
 
   Brother Christos has been enjoying a visit with his good friend, Peter, from Mississippi, seen here on the Washington State Ferry, "Spokane". (click to enlarge)

Quote of the Day:

"Know that the holy angels encourage us to pray and stand beside us, rejoicing and praying for us. Therefore, if we are negligent and admit thoughts from the enemy, we greatly provoke the angels. For while they struggle hard on our behalf we do not even take the trouble to pray to God for ourselves, but we despise their services to us and, abandoning their Lord and God, we consort with unclean demons."
Evagrios the Solistary

Scripture Readings for the Day:

Ephesians 5:33-6:9

³³ Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Ephesians 6

Children and Parents

 ¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ² "Honor your father and mother," which is the first commandment with promise: ³ "that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth."
⁴ And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.

Bondservants and Masters

⁵ Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; ⁶ not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, ⁷ with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, ⁸ knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.
⁹ And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.

Luke 4:16-22

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁶ So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
       ¹⁸ " The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me,
       Because He has anointed Me
      To preach the gospel to the poor;
      He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
      To proclaim liberty to the captives
      And recovery of sight to the blind,
      To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
       ¹⁹ To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."
 ²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." ²² So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, "Is this not Joseph's son?"