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
Monday, December 28 / 15 (Church Calendar)
 
Saints of the Day:

December 15 / 28. Hieromartyr Eleutherius, Bishop of Illyria, and his mother Martyr Anthia. St. Paul of Latros. St. Stephen theconfessor, Archbishop Surozha in the Crimea. Martyr Eleutherius at Constantinople. St. Pardus, hermit of Palestine. Martyr Bacchus the New. Martyr Susanna the deaconess of Palestine. St. Tryphon, abbot of Pechenga or Kolsk, and his martyreddisciple Jonah. NEW HIEROMARTYRS Joseph, Metropolitan of Petrograd (1938) and Ilarion (Troitsky) (1929). New-Martyr Paul(Florensky). (Greek Calendar: Martyr Koremon the Epatch and two executioners martyred with him.)

Photo of the Day:

Rev. Hieromonk Paul, serving his first Sunday Liturgy. (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Quote of the Day:

"We must struggle, because without struggles we do not obtain virtues."
Elder Ieronymos of Aegina

Scripture Readings for the Day:

Hebrews 8:7-13

A New Covenant

⁷ For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. ⁸ Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— ⁹ not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD. ¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ¹¹ None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. ¹² For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."
¹³ In that He says, "A new covenant, " He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Mark 8:11-21

The Pharisees Seek a Sign

¹¹ Then the Pharisees came out and began to dispute with Him, seeking from Him a sign from heaven, testing Him. ¹² But He sighed deeply in His spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Assuredly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation."

Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees and Herod

¹³ And He left them, and getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. ¹⁴ Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread, and they did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. ¹⁵ Then He charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."
¹⁶ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, " It is because we have no bread."
¹⁷ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? ¹⁸ Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? ¹⁹ When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"
They said to Him, "Twelve."
²⁰ "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"
And they said, "Seven."
²¹ So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?"