The Morning Offering

                                                                                                                 

A Beautiful Autumn Day on the Valaam Trail

October 30/17

A Financial Appeal:
Hieromonk Paul has just closed out the books for this past fiscal year, and, just as we suspected, we are about $6,000.00 in the red. Your help, through PayPal, or a mailed donation, would be greatly appreciated.
Abbot Tryphon

Saints of the Day:
Prophet Hosea (Osee). Monk-martyr Andrew of Crete. Translation of the Relics of St. Lazarus of the Four Days (in the tomb), Bishop of Kition on Cyprus. Holy Martyrs and Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian in Cilicia, and their brothers Leontius, Anthimus, and Eutropius. St. Anthony, abbot of Leokhnov (Novgorod). St. Susanna of Georgia. Repose of Elder Athanasius (Zakharov), disciple of St. Paisius Velichkovsky (1825).

Quote of the Day: 
"...without humbling oneself in spirit one cannot be saved. Humility cannot be learned from mere words; it is necessary to practice it, and someone has to hammer us flat. Without humility it is hard to enter into the Kingdom of God, which is obtained through many sorrows."

Elder Anthony of Optina

Photo of the Day:
A beautiful autumn day, on the lower Valaam Trail.

Scripture Readings for the Day:
2 Corinthians 8:1-5

Excel in Giving

 ¹ Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: ² that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. ³ For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, ⁴ imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. ⁵ And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

Luke 6:6-10

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

 ¹ Now it happened on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. ² And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”
³ But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴ how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” ⁵ And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath

⁶ Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷ So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against Him. ⁸ But He knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?” ¹⁰ And when He had looked around at them all, He said to the man,“Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.