SUNDAY June 8/21 ns 2026 † 3rd St. Matthew, Holy New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke • Translation of the Relics of the Holy Great Martyr Theodore the Commander, Holy Martyr Calliópe ~ Fish, wine, and olive oil are permitted ~ 3rd Matins Gospel: St. Mark 16:9-20; Rom. 5:1-10 (3rd Sunday); St. Matt. 6:22-33 ~ QUOTE: No Need; Make No Mistake; BLOGGER: Be Careful

Rejoice, for thou dost make the refulgent Luminescence to dawn.

Rejoice, for thou dost cause the superfluent River to gush forth.

Sunday June 8/21 ns 2026

Fish, W & O are permitted today

Holy New Martyrs of the Turkish Yoke

• Translation of the Relics of the 

Holy Great Martyr Theodore

the Commander,

• Holy Martyr Calliópe

Orthros Saint Mark 16:9-20 KJV

9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.

11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.

13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.

14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God.

20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Romans 5:1-10 KJV

5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.


Saint Matthew 6:22-33 KJV

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Saint John Chrysostomos

No Need

There would be no need for sermons, if our lives were shining. There would be no need for words, if we bore witness with our deeds.
There would be no pagans, if we were true Christians.

Saint Theophilos of Kiev, Ukraine

Make No Mistake

There is no one so mindless as one who cannot see his own sins and cannot see the virtues of others. There is no one so enlightened as he who can see and recognize his own sins and the virtues of others. Those who only see the faults of others and criticize them, St. John Chrysostomos equates to flies that fall on the wounds of others, not in order to heal them but rather to gnaw and to poison them more."

God has sent us here for penance [Epitimia]," these are the words of Blessed Theophilos of Kiev (+1853). He who knows and feels that he is here for repentance immerses himself in [stillness] and contemplation about his own sin, which has brought him to repentance. The same Blessed Theophilos further said: "Weep also for the sins of your fellow man; without this not one created human being will be saved." To weep or to proclaim - how is it written my son? With Blessed Theophilos, it is written: "To weep over one's own sins but with Satan, to proclaim the sins of others." About himself, Blessed Theophilos, at the point of death, left this testament to his brethren: "Remember the odious Theophilos!"

Be Careful

Needless to say, you know what following Christ will get you.

Be careful !!!

Saturday June 7/20 ns 2026 Holy Hieromartyr Theódotos of Ancyra, St. Paḯsios (Panagés) Basiás of Cephallenia ~ Fish, wine, and olive oil are permitted today ~ Rom. 3:28-4:3; St. Matt. 7:24-8:4 ~ QUOTE: On Watchfulness and Holiness

Rejoice, unwedded Bride

Saturday June 7/20 ns 2026

Fish, W & O are permitted today

Holy Hieromartyr Theódotos of Ancyra,

St. Paḯsios (Panagés) Basiás of Cephallenia

Holy Hieromartyr Theódotos was secretly a Christian and, as such, helped the Church and honorably buried the bodies of the holy martyrs. Thus, he buried the bodies of seven maidens who suffered for Christ. When the pagans found out about him, they subjected him to tortures and killed him.

Romans 3:28-4:3 KJV

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

29 Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:

30 Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.

31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

4 What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?

2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.

3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.


Saint Matthew 7:24-8:4 KJV

24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

8 When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

2 And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

3 And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

If a man does not carry out the will and law of God ‘in his inward parts’, that is, in his heart, he will not be able to carry them out easily in the outward sphere of the senses either. 

The careless and unwatchful man will say to God: 'I do not want to know Thy ways' (Job 21:14. LXX), obviously because he lacks Divine Illumination. But he who participates in that light will be confident and steadfast in matters that concern God.

Just as salt seasons our bread and other food and keeps certain meats from spoiling for quite a time, so the spiritual sweetness and marvelous working which result from the guarding of the intellect effect something similar. For in a Divine manner they season and sweeten both the inner and the outer self, driving away the stench of evil thoughts and keeping us continually in communion with good thoughts.

Many of our thoughts come from demonic provocation, and from these derive our evil outward actions. If with the help of Jesus we instantly quell the thought, we will avoid its corresponding outward action. We will enrich ourselves with the sweetness of divine knowledge and so will find God, Who is everywhere. Holding the mirror of the intellect firmly towards God, we will be illumined constantly as pure glass is by the sun. Then the intellect,
having reached the term of its desires, will in Him cease from all other contemplation.

Because every thought enters the heart in the form of a mental image of some sensible object, the blessed light of the Divinity will illumine the heart only when the heart is completely empty of everything and so free from all form. Indeed, this light reveals itself to the pure intellect in the measure to which the intellect is purged of all concepts.

The more closely attentive you are to your mind, the greater the longing with which you will pray to Jesus; and the more carelessly you examine your mind, the farther you will separate yourself from Him. 

Just as close attentiveness brilliantly illumines the mind, so the lapse from watchfulness and from the sweet invocation Jesus will darken it completely. All this happens naturally, not in any other way; and you will experience it if you test it out in practice. For there is no virtue - least of all this blessed light-generating activity - which cannot be learnt from experience.

To invoke Jesus continually with a sweet longing is to fill the heart in its great attentiveness with joy and tranquility. But it is Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Himself God, cause and creator of all blessings, who completely purifies the heart; for it is written: 'I am God who makes peace' (cf. Isa. 45:7).

Ceaseless Prayer

And you’re already there.

Friday June 6/19ns 2026 St. Hilarion the New, Abbot of the Dalmáton Monastery ~ Fast day ~ Rom. 9:6-19; St. Matt. 10:32-36, 11:1 ~ QUOTE: A Hymn for the Evening ~BLOGGER: Reward

Rejoice, Restoration of fallen Adam;

Hilarion was the abbot of the Dalmáton monastery in Constantinople. He was a disciple of Gregory of Decapolis and an imitator of the life of Hilarion the Great whose name he took.
Hilarion was powerful in prayer, persevering and courageous in suffering. He suffered much for the sake of icons at the time of the evil iconoclastic emperors, Leo the Armenian and others. Later, the Emperor Leo was slain by his own soldiers in the same church and on the same spot where he first ridiculed holy icons and from which he removed the first icon.

St. Hilarion was then released from prison but only for a short time. Again, he was tortured and detained in prison until the reign of the right-believing Empress Theodora. Hilarion was clairvoyant and a discerner. He saw the angels of God as they were taking the soul of St. Theodore the Studite to heaven. Pleasing God, he fell asleep and entered the Kingdom of God in the year 845 A.D. in his seventieth year.

Romans 9:6-19 KJV

6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:

7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.

10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;

11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)

12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.

14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid.

15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.

17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.

19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?

Saint Matthew 10:32-36, 11:1 KJV

32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.

36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.

11:1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

A Hymn for the Evening 

by St. Ephraem of Nisibis

In the time of evening

Let praise be given to Thee 

From the united tongues

Of the children of men. Thou hast given the daytime

For business and labor, 

And that we may provide 

All useful things. Behold all who are oppressed 

With heavy toil 

Return Thee their thanks 

Because Thou dost give them repose. Who is the being 

That will not worship Thee, 

Because Thou carest so much 

For our humanity? Thou hast set up the lights of heaven, 

With appointed seasons in the evening, 

That Thou mayest reprove him 

Who is never satisfied, With the bodily strength 

Of his fellow creatures 

Who labor for him freely 

Through all the day. To the hungry and thirsty — 

To those who labor and are fatigued

The evening comes, 

And sets them at liberty. The season of evening 

Hath now arrived. 

And maketh joyful 

The world and its laborers. But he who is not pitiful 

Towards his fellows. 

And he who is avaricious 

Not being satisfied with his work, — The evening despises him 

And treats him with contempt, 

And his oppressive covetousness 

Is not satisfied. 

Blessed be Thy Majesty 

Who from the beginning, 

Hast carefully regarded 

Our human nature. Who hast appointed a returning 

To the children of men, 

And all living creatures

In the time of evening. He hath put a seal upon His Church 

And defendeth her children, 

From the adversary Satan 

And from all his hosts. Let Thy cross become 

A secure passage, 

To Thy flock which is redeemed 

With Thy living blood. Let Thy peace, Lord, be diffused 

Through the four regions of the earth;

And let the wicked one flee away 

From the midst of us. From every tongue 

Of all animated creatures,

And from all places. 

Let praise ascend. And we together with them, 

Will ascribe glory 

To Thee, O Lord, and to the Father, 

And to the Holy Spirit. 

HOLY PROPHET ELIAS MONASTERY 

MOUNT ATHOS

Reward

When our Lord forgives a sin, He replaces our regret with an increase of His love and in doing so, our love and affection for Him increases exponentially.