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

Friday, June 4 / 22 (Church Calendar)

The Apostles Fast
Saints of the Day:

May 22 / June 4. Martyr Basiliscus, Bishop of Comana. St. John-Vladimir, ruler of Serbia. New Hieromartyr Zachariah of Prusa. Blessed James, youth, of Borovichi (Novgorod). Commemoration of the Second Ecumenical Council. Righteous Melchizedek, king of Salem. (Greek Calendar: Martyrs Marcellus and Codratus. Martyr Sophia and physician. New Monk-martyr Paul of Tripoli.) Repose of Cleopas of Valaam, disciple of St. Paisius Velichkovsky (1816).

Photo of the Day:

The monastery's main icon of Saint Nicholas, with his holy relic.

(click for enlargement)

Quote of the Day:

"We embitter the heart with the poison of evil thoughts when we are led by forgetfulness to long neglect of inner attention...."

St. Hesychios the Priest

Scripture Readings for the Day:

Romans 5:17-6:2

¹⁷ For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)
¹⁸ Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. ¹⁹ For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.
²⁰ Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, ²¹ so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

 ¹ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Matthew 9:14-17

Jesus Is Questioned About Fasting

¹⁴ Then the disciples of John came to Him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast?"
¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, "Can the friends of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. ¹⁷ Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."