Wednesday, July 24, 2013

  Doubt
The Opposite of Faith is Unbelief, not Doubt

Lack of doubt causes people to hold to beliefs which may not be enough to sustain them in this present world, for they, in their fear of doubt, fail to go beyond the external form of the Christian faith. In their fear, they may simply go through the motions of religion, making their faith no more than the adherence to a set of beliefs and practices that are not truly their own.

Doubting your faith can be the beginning of deepening your faith, for it forces you to look beyond outward ritual, and blind belief. Doubt is not unbelief, but quite possibly the beginning of true faith.

Love in Christ,
Abbot Tryphon

Marcus Berg
Photos: Our thanks to Marcus Berg, owner of Sound View Home Services LLC, of Vashon Island, for cleaning the onion dome on our monastery's church, as well as to his employee Matt Craig. We all stood in amazement and awe at their agility and skill, in renewing the beauty of the dome. It now looks like new. Thank you, Marcus, for your generosity and kindness.
Matt Craig
Marcus Berg
 

Wednesday July 24, 2013 / July 11, 2013

5th Week after Pentecost. Tone three.
Fast. By Monastic Charter: Strict Fast (Bread, Vegetables, Fruits)

Commemoration of the Miracle (451) of Great-martyr Euphemia the All-praised, of Chalcedon (304). Blessed Equal-to-the-Apostles Olga, princess of Russia, in holy baptism called Helen (969).
Hieromartyr Cindeus of Pamphylia (3rd-4th c.).
"Rzevsk" or "Okovetsk" (1539) and "Borkolabsky" Icons of the Most Holy Theotokos. "Rudensk" (1687) Icon of the Mother of God.
Venerable Nicodemus of Hilandar and Vatopedi, Mt. Athos (14th c.) (Greek).
New Martyr Venerable Nicodemus of Elbasan and Mt. Athos (1722) (Greek).
Uncovering of the relics of the Monk Arkadius of Vyazemsk and Novotorzhsk (1677). New Martyr Nectarius of St. Anne's Skete, Mt. Athos (1820) (Greek).
Venerable Leo, monk, of Mandra (Greek).
Martyrs Januarius and Pelagia of Nicopolis in Armenia (310).
New Hiero-martyrs Momcilo Grgurevic, Dobroslav Blazenovic, Milan Bozic, Mihailo Djusic, Jovan Zecevic, Bozidar Jovic, Bogdan Lalic, Trifun Maksimovic, Velimir Mijatovic, Bozidar Minic, Miladin Minic, Marko Popovic, Dimitrije Rajanovic, Budimir Sokolovic, Relja Spahic, Lazar Culibrk, Savo Siljac, Savo Skaljka, Milorad Vukojicic, Ratomir Jankovic, Mihailo Jevdjevic, Dusan Prijovic, Dobrosav Sokovic, Nestor Trkulja, Serafim Dzaric, Andrija Siljak, Slobodan Siljak, and Jovan Rapajic of Serbia (1941-1945) (Serbia).
St. Drostan of Old Deer and Aberdeen (6th c.) (Celtic & British).
You can read the life of the saint in red, by clicking on the name.

THANKS to all of you who have been able to contribute towards the support of the monastery. These difficult times of economic hardship have impacted the monastery, and those of you who have been able to donate, have been our lifeline. May God bless you for your generosity, and kindness.


With love in Christ,  
Abbot Tryphon
Donations can be made directly to the monastery through PayPal, or you may send donations to:

All-Merciful Saviour Monastery
PO Box 2420
Vashon Island, WA 98070-2420 USA


The Scripture Readings for the Day

Romans 15:7-16


Glorify God Together

7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. 8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, 9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written:

“For this reason I will confess to You among the Gentiles,
And sing to Your name.”
10 And again he says:
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people!”
11 And again:
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles!
 Laud Him, all you peoples!”
12 And again, Isaiah says:

“There shall be a root of Jesse;
And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles, In Him the Gentiles shall hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

From Jerusalem to Illyricum

14 Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, 16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.


Matthew 12:38-45


The Scribes and Pharisees Ask for a Sign

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”
39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42 The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

An Unclean Spirit Returns

43 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”



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