The Morning Offering

Bishop Theodosy serving in Holy Virgin Cathedral, San Francisco

Tuesday

March 29, 2011 / March 16, 2011

Fourth Week of the Great Lent: Adoration of Cross. Tone three.
Great Lent. By Monastic Charter: Food without Oil

Martyr Sabinas of Hermopolis, Egypt (303).
Martyr Papas of Lycaonia (305).
St. Serapion, archbishop of Novgorod (1516).
Apostle Aristobulus of the Seventy, bishop of Britain (1st c.).
Hieromartyr Alexander, pope of Rome (119).
Martyr Julian of Anazarbus (305).
Martyrs Trophimus and Thalus of Laodicea (300).
Venerable Christodulus, wonderworker of Patmos (1093).
Martyr Romanus at Parium on the Hellespont.
10 Martyrs in Phoenicia (Greek).
St. Pimen, fool-for-Christ, enlightener of the Lezgians, and his companion Anthony of Meskhi, Georgia (13th c.).
St. Ambrose (Khelaia) the Confessor, catholicos of Georgia (1927).
New Martyr Malachi of Rhodes, who suffered at Jerusalem (1500).
St. Abban of Kilabban (650) (Celtic & British).

Quote for the Day:

"All troubles come from a mental outlook that is too broad. It is better to humbly cast your eyes down toward your feet, and to figure out which step to take where.
This is the truest path."

Saint Theophan the Recluse       

Scripture Readings for the Day:

Isaiah 25:1-9

Praise to God

 ¹ O LORD, You are my God.
      I will exalt You,
      I will praise Your name,
      For You have done wonderful things;
      Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
       ² For You have made a city a ruin,
      A fortified city a ruin,
      A palace of foreigners to be a city no more;
      It will never be rebuilt.
       ³ Therefore the strong people will glorify You;
      The city of the terrible nations will fear You.
       ⁴ For You have been a strength to the poor,
      A strength to the needy in his distress,
      A refuge from the storm,
      A shade from the heat;
      For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.
       ⁵ You will reduce the noise of aliens,
      As heat in a dry place;
      As heat in the shadow of a cloud,
      The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.
       ⁶ And in this mountain
      The LORD of hosts will make for all people
      A feast of choice pieces,
      A feast of wines on the lees,
      Of fat things full of marrow,
      Of well-refined wines on the lees.
       ⁷ And He will destroy on this mountain
      The surface of the covering cast over all people,
      And the veil that is spread over all nations.
       ⁸ He will swallow up death forever,
      And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces;
      The rebuke of His people
      He will take away from all the earth;
      For the LORD has spoken.
       ⁹ And it will be said in that day:

      “ Behold, this is our God;
      We have waited for Him, and He will save us.
      This is the LORD;
      We have waited for Him;
      We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”
 
Genesis 9:8-17

⁸ Then God spoke to Noah and to his sons with him, saying: ⁹ “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you, ¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth. ¹¹ Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
¹² And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: ¹³ I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. ¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud; ¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶ The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷ And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Proverbs 12:8-22

⁸ A man will be commended according to his wisdom,
      But he who is of a perverse heart will be despised.
       ⁹ Better is the one who is slighted but has a servant,
      Than he who honors himself but lacks bread.
       ¹⁰ A righteous man regards the life of his animal,
      But the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
       ¹¹ He who tills his land will be satisfied with bread,
      But he who follows frivolity is devoid of understanding.
       ¹² The wicked covet the catch of evil men,
      But the root of the righteous yields fruit.
       ¹³ The wicked is ensnared by the transgression of his lips,
      But the righteous will come through trouble.
       ¹⁴ A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth,
      And the recompense of a man’s hands will be rendered to him.
       ¹⁵ The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
      But he who heeds counsel is wise.
       ¹⁶ A fool’s wrath is known at once,
      But a prudent man covers shame.
       ¹⁷ He who speaks truth declares righteousness,
      But a false witness, deceit.
       ¹⁸ There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword,
      But the tongue of the wise promotes health.
       ¹⁹ The truthful lip shall be established forever,
      But a lying tongue is but for a moment.
       ²⁰ Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,
      But counselors of peace have joy.
       ²¹ No grave trouble will overtake the righteous,
      But the wicked shall be filled with evil.
       ²² Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD,
      But those who deal truthfully are His delight. 

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